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xiw posted:1. Weisman's website was last crawled in 2022 and no other social media presence since then. There's nothing to actually connect the medium site with them directly and nothing to actually indicate the website was pulled down at the same time as the medium site. However, today Hill posted screenshots of emails from someone with a valid @tc.columbia.edu address, and another one from cbweismanlcsw@gmail.com, which is the account listed in Weisman's thesis and other publications. So unless someone also took pains to disguise their email address, that seems to be proof that it is her. https://x.com/machineiv/status/1752072436403610104?s=20 Halloween Jack fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jan 29, 2024 |
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Jan 29, 2024 22:32
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That Old Tree posted:The degree to which many people around here seem to genuinely think nearly every last post from some shithead defending Zak is always Zak himself. I'm well aware of the definite sock puppetry, but I also believe there are plenty of assholes who just like him for some awful reason. Although apparently I don't think that enough, since apparently this whole case is a real person that I thought might not be real after all Sockpuppeting is a very specific thing (making an anonymous secondary account that's just you) that Zak *sometimes* does, most notably the Dongion thing. What he does more often, and what makes a lot of people comfortable with assuming a lot of his defenders are just Zak sockpuppet accounts, is directly give talking points to real actual people who've fallen under his fuckhead spell which they then provide pretty much verbatim on whatever internet front they've been deployed. Depending on his closeness to the person this does seem to go all the way up to just posting via the proxy's account. If I recall correctly the big Mandy blog post, according to her, is an example of this, but this is why so many of his defenders use his same alien way of writing.
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Jan 29, 2024 23:25
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so apparently the TCG Metazoo and the parent company just evaporated overnight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8PNZ5ExK2Q&hd=1
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Jan 29, 2024 23:35
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Captain Invictus posted:so apparently the TCG Metazoo and the parent company just evaporated overnight: What will happen to my Metazoo NFTs?  Still worthless? Whew.
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Jan 30, 2024 00:11
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Captain Invictus posted:so apparently the TCG Metazoo and the parent company just evaporated overnight: from what I gather this guy was a shitheel that constantly encouraged people to "invest" in it and was in on the obvious pump and dump scam?
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Jan 30, 2024 01:09
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Bottom Liner posted:from what I gather this guy was a shitheel that constantly encouraged people to "invest" in it and was in on the obvious pump and dump scam? That’s an accurate description of Rudy generally, yeah.
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Jan 30, 2024 01:12
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Yeah, he was pumping it when the Sanrio collab came out and talked it up as being a strong game and company. This is all the while telling people that WotC is bound for ruin and he has little faith in them. He's pretty insidious in that he's very clearly a seller with a store but sells himself as just a guy commentating on trends and is trying to help you, the uninformed. You too could work your way up to his level by building up a collection and selling cards! His whole backstory/mythology is that he was once a stockbroker but got out of the game and is now just a simple card seller. He also addresses a good deal of the criticism, especially those directed at him from FLGS's by deflecting and just claiming he has very little influence on trends. Rudy generally pushes meme or investment centered games like MetaZoo or Sorcery and then dumps on WotC. A couple weeks after he'll post a positive video about WotC so I'm pretty sure he pumps and dumps while buying up MtG product when it dips, which is getting incredibly expensive. He also has been caught selling a counterfeit signature, signed card in the past, which I believe he's done his best to weasel out of having that stick to him. https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/8umljb/alpha_investments_gets_caught_trying_to_sell_a/ There's also 8 unique Rudy promo cards in MetaZoo so he was heavily involved in these shenanigans, even if he ended up getting burned. https://www.tcgplayer.com/search/metazoo/product?productLineName=metazoo&q=rudy&view=grid
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Jan 30, 2024 01:53
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If he had been born slightly later Rudy would have been a ground floor bitcoin guy.
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Jan 30, 2024 03:05
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Per the announcements, I had no idea that MetaZoo "revitalized the industry" and has now effectively "shut down the entire market." I didn't realize how much the hobby depended on them.
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Jan 30, 2024 03:14
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xiw posted:There's a few interesting facts to note when digging into this Now there's a name I didn't want to hear again. Becami Cusack was an annoyance who spent quite some time last year crusading on how Zak being awarded $1 in a case against Vivka Grey meant he was clearly in the right about everything ever and should be given a triumphal parade. You know, despite the same case stating in great detail his abusive behavior in their relationship and solely differing from her allegations on the point he was awarded $1 for in that there was no evidence of physical force being used to force her to live with him. Don't take my word for it though, go read the judgement. Content warning, there's some very explicit description of sexual abuse that I personally would qualify as rape.
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Jan 30, 2024 05:04
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Even if Zak Smith is as pure as the driven snow legally and everything he said is 100% true, he remains one of the least-likable people I've ever seen and I really don't care much about his life. That said, I can also completely believe that a bunch of "creatives" are actually a pack of backstabbing cretins who will throw anyone who doesn't fellate their narcissism directly underneath the nearest bus and be stupid enough to admit it in a recorded interview with some rando. I'm pretty sure that's a universal truth in any industry and isn't in any way unique to the RPG market. The only thing in that interminable slog of a read that aroused any emotion in me was resigned disgust with the author's, "Well I went in expecting those GAMERS to be awful bad harasser people, but how could anyone have ever expected these creative queer folx to be utter shitheels?"
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Jan 30, 2024 07:05
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Probably one of those things where people assume that they can waltz in on a field yet to be graced by their presence and beat up on the pathetic nerds, and then having an enabler helpfully pointing out targets for them. Especially academia bottom-feeders, they're generally neurotic petty manchildren that make goons look well-adjusted and mature.
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Jan 30, 2024 09:06
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It does make more sense coming from someone who's never held a tenure-track position than from a mid-career academic. From what I'm observed, academics eager to do something so unprofessional are either on the margins, because they haven't been vetted and have less to lose, or so well-established that they can get away with anything.Liquid Communism posted:Now there's a name I didn't want to hear again. Becami Cusack was an annoyance who spent quite some time last year crusading on how Zak being awarded $1 in a case against Vivka Grey meant he was clearly in the right about everything ever and should be given a triumphal parade. Halloween Jack fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Jan 30, 2024 |
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Jan 30, 2024 16:21
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I don't think it's worth speculating about her mindset. I'll still maintain that there's not any functional difference between someone coached to write something by Zak (with his editorial oversight), having him write up an essay and post it under her name, or hijacking it to pose as her. He identifies people he thinks are useful, corners them, and gets them on "his side" through niceties and haranguing as needed. It's just going to be an enteral pattern of "Zak found someone else to brainwash into posting another screed in his defense that sounds like it was written by Zak" until he dies angry-but-of-old-age because that's how it always works out.
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Jan 30, 2024 18:15
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Nuns with Guns posted:I don't think it's worth speculating about her mindset. I'll still maintain that there's not any functional difference between someone coached to write something by Zak (with his editorial oversight), having him write up an essay and post it under her name, or hijacking it to pose as her. He identifies people he thinks are useful, corners them, and gets them on "his side" through niceties and haranguing as needed. It's just going to be an enteral pattern of "Zak found someone else to brainwash into posting another screed in his defense that sounds like it was written by Zak" until he dies angry-but-of-old-age because that's how it always works out. Honestly if I had to put Vegas odds on it, she wrote it. This isn't to say he didn't coach her or provide her a checklist or whatever. I talked to her for numerous hours. Her speech mannerisms come through in the text very clearly. I worked with her explicitly because she said it wasn't a piece about Zak, but about harassment in online communities and how online abuse and harassment affects people long-term. I explicitly told her I didn't want to be part of anything that was specifically about Zak, because I wanted that chapter of my life to be over. She never really asked for "evidence" or anything. She just asked what I experienced and how it affected my life. One time she asked for a screenshot of something I said. I sent it over. That was the only time "evidence" came up because frankly I was very clear I didn't want to be linked to any Zak bullshit. In her opening conversation with me, she said, "Zak S had a pattern of warning signs and red flags and behavior that gets ignored or minimized over and over, and this needs to stop." Which is duplicitous as all hell but I was too trusting. I feel like such a rube. She got in very close with me. Made friends with me. Called me to tell me about her new house, and to send pictures of the lake in the back yard. When I had a massively bad breakup, she was the first person I called because we were talking that much. She talked to me when I was nervous about a root canal. We'd LONG since moved on from talking about Zak by that point. I didn't know she was anything but a friend with good intentions until the breakup, when I got off the phone with her then minutes later my ex messaged me to tell me she reached out to her looking for dirt. I felt so hurt and betrayed. Ironically that was the second time it happened. Years ago, Kirin Robinson sidled in with me and my partner at a con after party. He then started inviting us up to LA for lunch, where he'd talk to us about all sorts of stuff. But when I got suspicious because he kept asking personal stuff that only a weirdo would know, I fed him some false information. Very soon thereafter, Zak repeated that information. Like I just wish I could live my loving life. It's been twelve loving years.
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Jan 30, 2024 19:10
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Much like the SAppelcline thing, the only explanations that exonerate Zak are so convoluted and unbelievable that it's a harmful distraction to be like "oh the industry is full of catty bitches anyway." It's full of lies of omission at best. You do not in fact have to hand it to this dog poo poo essay that was so obviously terrible even the awful harassing rear end in a top hat(s) that posted it took it down almost immediately. The only thing it meaningfully demonstrates is that Zak is an unhinged, dangerous loser.
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Jan 30, 2024 20:10
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What I don't get is why people continue to fall over themselves for Smith like this. I mean, like what, is he literally made of money that they all can't but help gently caress themselves over for him because he's splurging them full of money? What in their right mind would possess them to, especially in the light of the length some of them go to, continue doing this?
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Jan 30, 2024 21:05
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Mr.Misfit posted:What I don't get is why people continue to fall over themselves for Smith like this. Some folks are loving stupid and love following a pants-shitter. See also: Trump.
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Jan 30, 2024 21:21
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Mr.Misfit posted:What I don't get is why people continue to fall over themselves for Smith like this. He's charismatic and overbearing in a very specific way that gets followers to worship him. Identically to Trump. "Zak Sabbath Saved D&D" is just "Make America Great Again" for people that have memorized Monty Python movies but don't understand them.
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Jan 30, 2024 21:25
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I have yet to witness this vaunted "charisma"
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Jan 30, 2024 21:35
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Halloween Jack posted:I have yet to witness this vaunted "charisma" It works great on the people who are susceptible to it and not at all on people who aren't. Everyone has different affinities so I probably love someone you think is an rear end in a top hat and vice versa. I don't like Zak S, who may have poo poo his pants in a Chik-Fil-A once.
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Jan 30, 2024 22:36
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And there's the simple explanation that he may just be opting to be nice to the people he wants to be his friends. Most of the Internet's exposure to him is when he's sperging out at someone, and I presume he's not trying to make friends in those moments. While I have never endeavored to get a bunch of porn actresses to show up for my tabletop games, I can't imagine I'd net so many of them as he did, so clearly he's able to interact amicably with people when he wants to. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jan 30, 2024 23:44
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Valatar posted:And there's the simple explanation that he may just be opting to be nice to the people he wants to be his friends. Most of the Internet's exposure to him is when he's sperging out at someone, and I presume he's not trying to make friends in those moments. I have an actual diagnosis for Asperger’s syndrome. Zak Smith is just an rear end in a top hat.
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Jan 31, 2024 00:45
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Mr.Misfit posted:What I don't get is why people continue to fall over themselves for Smith like this. Apart from the whole "ineffable charisma that works on some people and very much not on others", it's two things: 1) A very consistent thing that's brought up by people who used to be friends is that he is very supportive of people he's friends with and goes out of his way to help them with their projects. 2) He writes the kind of dumb nonsense that can be mistaken for genius by people who do not have the confidence to not mistake the former as the latter.
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Jan 31, 2024 08:28
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Halloween Jack posted:I have yet to witness this vaunted "charisma" That may have been on display when he called me a pigfucker on G+. But probably not.
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Jan 31, 2024 09:16
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Gentleman, are you ready for the future of D&D!quote:Hasbro Seeks to Sell IP “DND” and Has Had Preliminary Contact with Tencent Hasbro needs the money, just fired the staff who cost a lot to fatten it up and the biggest story the rest of the world knows is about D&D is Baldur's Gate III and how much money it made. This kills the tabletop game.
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Jan 31, 2024 13:04
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I mean if Tencent does buy it and hands control of the TTRPG to Larian it'll probably be a push, and not dissimilar from Paradox and WoD. Obviously it's possible, but It'd be pretty impressive to be notably worse stewards of the game and #IP than Hasbro has.
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Jan 31, 2024 13:31
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My first thought was wondering if it's a backdoor to getting more D&D movies in China, but its take in China was only 12 million bux (source) so that can't be it.
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Jan 31, 2024 13:43
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Major risks foreseeable, off the top of my head: - Tencent is already under regulatory scrutiny from the Chinese authorities in relation to gaming, this could drag D&D into that. Do you trust a government bureaucrat in your own country to a) understand that tabletop RPGs are different from online games and b) not have a weird axe to grind? If the answer to either is "no" I don't see why you would trust a bureaucrat in an authoritarian and corrupt regime which is fond of crimes against humanity. - Let's say some economic bubble somewhere pops and Tencent shutter Larian. A lot of D&D IP might end up locked in a drawer somewhere in Tencent's HQ with nobody bothering to make it available. - What happens to everything on DM Guild? The 5E SRD coming out under Creative Commons alleviates some risks but not all.
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Jan 31, 2024 13:59
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Apparently they just want the exclusive rights for videogame adaptations, not the actual tabletop system. TBH, this could backfire, but it might also be better than the current arrangement. We got no crpgs during the entire 4E run and only some shovelware, Solasta (which was made without their permission based on the SRD) and BG3 during ten years of 5e. Yeah, BG3 is good, but we could have gotten so many more decent videogames out of it. WOTC has just kind of been sitting on the license for the most part. Personally, I think the wise long-term approach would be to get as permissive with licensing as Warhammer. Even though GW has been giving licenses left and right, the average quality of WH videogames has been surprisingly high and the highlights have been nearly as good as BG3 (which has been kind of a freak occurrence) and there was a lot more of them actually released. It's the classic Pottery Class Parable approach.
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Jan 31, 2024 14:15
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Tencent only has a ~30% stake in Larian Sven and his wife have the remaining 70% Tencent can't just shutter them. They could pull funding and investment, but at this point Larian is no longer(probably? Who knows with AAA dev nowadays) in as dire straits as it was early on where they had cash flow problems, and now after 2 very good games and one mega hit funding shouldn't be too hard for them to get. Also Tencent owns a stake in an absolute poo poo ton of media and games things outside of China. Activision, Ubi, Epic, Remedy, I think Paradox. Chinese laws may prevent stuff getting released in China or whatever. But doesn't affect anything released outside. Especially companies it doesn't have full control over. Alot of this is comical Chinese fear mongering(like America right now is literally helping fund and supply bombs and weapons for a genocide. I personally am not a fan of throwing stones from my lovely country's glass house wrt morality of the regime, hooray we get the ability to vote for which color is going to support American imperialism, I guess one color might put a rainbow flag on a bomb) Tencent is no worse than any American megacorp. Such as Let's say Hasbro. Anything you said about Tencent. Hasbro can and will do too to chase a buck. It's all capitalism...
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Jan 31, 2024 14:27
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This could be a wonderful payday for Hasbro's Board of directors just before the whole company collapses!
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Jan 31, 2024 14:36
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This thread is not an appropriate venue for yet another broad China Good/China Bad goonfight. Let's not go there. Again.
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Jan 31, 2024 14:38
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Lmao at Hasbro collapsing It will be a nice payday they can show they are doing their best at "maximizing shareholder value"™ tho. (Who cares about the hundreds and thousands of people who lose their livelihoods tho) dwarf74 posted:This thread is not an appropriate venue for yet another broad China Good/China Bad goonfight. Let's not go there. Again. Sorry not my intent to say China is good or bad, just that like this is more rooted in the tenets of Capitalism than any particular country's policies. Dexo fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 14:39
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It would be beyond hilarious if this is the thing that finally kills the shambling corpses of DDO and Neverwinter.
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Jan 31, 2024 15:23
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Dexo posted:Lmao at Hasbro collapsing People have LMAO'ed about a lot of companies that collapsed. Nothing is eternal, especially if companies like Bain or KKR decide it's worth gutting.
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Jan 31, 2024 15:56
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mllaneza posted:That may have been on display when he called me a pigfucker on G+. Wow, I didn’t know we were in the presence of a former prime minister. Comstar posted:Gentleman, are you ready for the future of D&D! Is this a trustworthy source that you regularly follow for news? I’ve never seen ‘pandaily’ as a source before.
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Jan 31, 2024 15:57
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Chairman Xi will kill DND forever god willing
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Jan 31, 2024 17:25
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DDO seems to stop be going strong though?
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Jan 31, 2024 17:32
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DalaranJ posted:Wow, I didn’t know we were in the presence of a former prime minister. wondering the same thing- it looks like the pandalily article is just a cleaned up translation of an article in Chinese that's sourced to "Snow Leopard Finance."
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