If you read his blog, this is the most important thing that's ever been on it:
I started this blog in 2009 to document my mostly-porn-stars' game group's D&D game and my game ideas.
A little while later, I started getting asked to make my own game stuff, and I did.
As is typical for someone a little internet-famous, lots of conspiracy theories about me started spreading.
Most of these didn't affect much until 2019, when basically they destroyed my life
An Oxford-educated psychotherapist and researcher wrote a story about all this, documenting the conspiracy theorists harassing me, doing extensive interviews with the harassers where they openly admit they know they weren't telling the truth:
The researcher got harassed as soon as she published and got scared and took it down. However the audio clips of the folks admitting they lied are here:
Interviewees confirmed they talked to her here:
and here:
Goatmansgoblet/Brian Yaksha/Brian Richmond deleted his twitter after he was exposed.
Others apologized spontaneously:
...others had to be sued before they apologized:
Because Mike Mearls (formerly of offical WOTC D&D and someone else targeted by the conspiracy theory described in the article) was recently hired by Chaosium, the conspiracy theorists are having a field day again, lying all over again, and being believed all over again.
I've successfully sued three times over this. The research is done, it's public. People involved directly admitted into an audio recorder that they lied, didn't check sources, spread things they didn't confirm.
This should matter. This should end.
Claims like this are basically attempted murder--and they will succeed unless the people who don't want me dead take this as seriously as the people who do.
I am at the limit of my ability to communicate the seriousness of the situation. I don't know what to do.
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22 comments:
I hope this will come to a positive end for you soon, man. When I mentioned that whole sad affair on a Discord forum, the reaction was almost zero. Strange, really.
@bhaktibaya
1. Which forum?
2. "Hope" won't change anything. What changes things is readers doing stuff.
@Virgil Clemens
Sorry, misinformation is not allowed in the comments.
@anon
Sorry, no anonymous comments allowed.
@Virgil
Claims aren't facts. Burden of proof is on the -accuser-.
Misinformation is not allowed in the comments.
Can you elaborate on the new Mike Mearls stuff (maybe in your next blog post?). First time I'm hearing of it. I believe you, but I have no idea what's going on: are you getting harassed over him getting hired by Chaosium? On what platform is this taking place? Etc.
@Darius_V
Ok, the Mike Mearls stuff:
1. It was recently announced that Mike Mearls, after being let go by WOTC/Hasbro/D&D, was hired by Chaosium.
2. The Usual Suspects then responded to the news on various forms by complaining that Mike Mearls was in any way employed anywhere
3. Why? Because of the Mike Mearls-Zak Conspiracy Theory dreamed up by the Something Awful goons years ago. That theory and all the reasons it is easy to disprove is explained here:
https://officialzsannouncements.blogspot.com/2019/12/on-harassment-of-mike-mearls.html
and goons admitted they knew it was made up here:
https://archive.is/0Nv3c
4. Basically any time they make this claim they are--in every jurisdiction I know of--breaking the law and harassing Mike and me, committing defamation. Because every part of the theory requires a lie:
-Mike didn't communicate the names of people who complained about me to me
-I didn't harass anyone
-I am not an abuser
So repeating the conspiracy theory anywhere is breaking the law in 3 ways.
5. Where?
Mostly Twitter, reddit, Facebook and Discord, as pretty much always.
Thanks!
I never believed a word. It's a sad state of affairs when you know you done nothing wrong yet other people are so trigger happy to come to arms of the accuser upon scant evidence, wish you the best of health. Just keep trucking on.
So your campaign for truth, justice and apologies has failed - What's next?
@Knower
It's not over yet by a long shot. There is much more to do.
"Here are some people who apologized for acting wrong, proof 1, proof 2, proof 3".
"AHA, you campaign for apologies has failed!"
Medically fascinating.
@Simon Tsevelev
Until the people responsible are all held accountable and the things they did were undone, the campaign is, at minimum, unfinished, Simon.
If true, from an external perspective this then appears to be an endurance race, which feels like a strategy that's built around pig headed determination rather than smart decision making.
@knower
The two are not mutually exclusive.
But if anyone can think of a more efficient plan based on "smart decision making" nobody has articulated it.
@knower
I deleted your comment because misinformation is not allowed in the comments.
However, you may have made your comment out of ignorance so I will address it:
Your comment read, in full:
"Not true. But, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and repeat previous advice given anonymously. Hire a PR firm. You have a reputation problem.
"
This is a not a smart solution.
This is the kind of anodyne at-a-distance solution that someone who has not thought the problem through would make. And someone who wants it to _someone else's problem instead of theirs_.
Lots of reasons this is not a good ideas:
-Since 2016 this has never worked with someone dealing with #metoo charges, even for millionaires who hire PR firms. Some once-cancelled people got jobs that -made money- but if you think making money is my goal you aren't paying any attention to anything. It didn't change anyone's reputation.
-PR firms put out and pitch stories. This works if you're Exxon, but painters have stories about them in the media maybe once a year. It would be bizarre for their to be lots of stories about anyone with my job in the media. People in the industries I work in basically laugh off anyone directly using normal PR tools. When I wrote for an art magazine I'd laugh off anyone who pitched a story or tried to use any tool of a PR firm t get my attention.
-All the PR in the world doesn't prevent bad actors from controlling niche-fan-controlled outlets like r/rpg or RPG Lunatic Twitter and that's where the problem is.
-All the PR in the world -doesn't bring the bad actors to justice-. So long as Matt Mercer et al is on the internet with an audience who believes him, the problem persists.
-Anyone in PR will _straight up tell you all these things_ . These guys work in payola scams, telling folks a new album is out and marketing new shoes as hip, they don't repair reputation damage caused by thousands of insular sociopaths deciding to cooperate on their insular-sociopath-controlled platforms
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There are not a lot of options around why you'd leave the comment you did:
a-You're one of the harassers who wants to be demoralizing by saying what I've done isn't smart.
b-You don't really care but took the opportunity to be demoralizing by saying what I've done isn't smart.
c-You genuinely want to be helpful but want to suggest solutions that don't involve you personally doing anything, even if they make no sense with even a little thought.
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Either way, the obvious path for me is clear:
Email me at zakzsmith AT hawtmayle dawt calm and tell me who you are.
If A or B you're a piece of shit anyway and you won't because you're not interested in helping.
If C and you want to help, you'll email.
If C but you're skittish about helping, then there's not much point in talking to you.
Your move.
@Joe Biden
Who are you talking about? Who does that?
@Joe Biden
You were asked a question and, 48 hours, still haven't answered.
You are not engaging, your comments will be erased.
Having been demonized and banned on such a small scale compared to you, I am glad that you finally got at least some reconciliation from those who wronged you. I admire the fire you have in you.
@anon
Sorry, erased, no anonymous comments allowed.
@anon
No anonymous comments allowed.
If you want a question answered--ask using a persistent identity.
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