So, two of the most aggressive harassers online--people responsible for more hate directed against me and the other D&DW/PS crew since 2011 than almost everyone else put together--got cancelled yesterday: Olivia Hill and her spouse, Filamena Young.
Olivia's girlfriend claimed that she was abusive, lied all the time, and played victim constantly to escape responsibility for doing fucked up things.
- If Olivia's girlfriend is telling the truth: this is exactly what I have said for years about them except when I said it I had proof. Olivia is an abuser and Filamena is, too.
- If Olivia's girlfriend is lying: it means Olivia and Filamena want a benefit-of-the-doubt in this situation after demanding it not be extended to others. Which means they are abusers.
Anyway that means an even fifteen of the folks who were involved in the smear campaign against me have themselves been outed as abusive. I have a question for readers, right after the list...
1. Olivia Hill (former Vampire et al Onyx Path designer--girlfriend says she lied all the time, is abusive, and plays victim when she's caught, which is exactly what I've always said Olivia does)
2. Filamena Young (former Vampire et al Onyx Path designer--enabled Olivia's abuse)
3. Brandon Dixon (Swordsfall, called out on twitter as a creep by a fan)
4. Adam Koebel (Dungeon World/ Streamer, caught on tape being creepy)
5. PH Lee (Bliss Stage, Hot Guys Making Out, storygamer, cancelled for their edgy games--after making fake allegations about rape)
6. Ben Chong (various "games about relationships, storygamer--admitted to being a sexual abuser)
7. Sean Patrick Fannon (Savage Rifts--admitted to being a sexual harasser)
8. BlackHatMatt (RPGnet moderator--accused of rape)
9. Tyler Carpenter (Battletech, storygamer--admitted to sexual harassment)
10. The folks at Green Ronin (who either committed sexual misconduct or handled it poorly in the case of C.A. Suleiman)
11. Shoe Skogen (my ex's friend, outed as an alleged abuser after being made an OSR discord mod as a reward for harassing me)
12. Elizabeth Sampat (storygamer, ex-girlfriend and enabler of Gamergate-related sucide Alec Holowka)
13. Jared Cassady aka AuraTwilight aka Paimon Prowler (ran the OSR Discord, outed as an alleged abuser by fellow greaser furry hypnotism enthusiasts I am not making this up I swear)
14. Oliver Darkshire (DMsguild author--pissed of fellow members of LGBTQIA+ community by publishing a D&D book about queer villains)
15. Luke Crane (Burning Wheel, Head of Community at Kickstarter, stepped down for helping Adam Koebel even after he got cancelled)
Olivia and Filamena finally being exposed for what they really are makes it safe(r) for me to tell a part of the RPG story that nobody really knows yet.
However, there's another problem and that's: it's possible nobody fucking cares. I got cancelled because people believed things without evidence from "people they trusted"--even when the "people they trusted" turn out to be liars and abusers, nobody seems to connect the dots.
So, I will only tell this story if there is unusual and atypical evidence that some of you out there actually care.
If I get 100 comments from a 100 distinct accounts (none of them banned) on this post, I will tell the whole story of what happened with Vampire 5e--why it turned out how it did, why it was treated by Paradox the way it was almost as soon as it came out, why the launch didn't come out as planned, what went on behind the scenes with me, Kenneth Hite, Martin Ericsson and everyone else and how many online jerks were actually involved. I have never told anyone this and only the people who worked on it know the whole truth. And I have the receipts.
Vote if you care.
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110 comments:
I care enough to vote.
It's cool, I get it. Fingers crossed.
Don't be such a tease. Of course we want to hear the details.
Curious as to the causes of all this, and am interested in particular in this case, because it seems bad things get directed at you when you are consulting in particular.
It seems that people get especially angry/torqued when you consult because they have no idea what that actually means, and based on comments you have made, you had impact on Vampire that was fairly substantial but have not said much about what was your contributions.
You also talked about the art director using photographs and Kenneth Hite having to read all the previous Vampire material, and I am curious as to what you saw/did when it came to working on the book, because those other two cases are interesting, and yours must be too.
I'm in to hear about it
Vote yes
Let it flow..
I would like to hear this, yes.
Another curious one, here
100 seems like a high bar, but I'm curious too.
Sure
you bet
I want to hear it.
Story! Yes, I would like to hear
i really really want to hear the details
Strangely enough, count me as interested
Yup.
Morbidly curious. Count me as interested.
I'm interested.
I'm definitely interested.
I am curious. I am concerned about the evidence double standard in the community.
Yes, please. Your side of this story is important to hear.
I would absolutely positively like to know more about that situation.
I'd like to hear it.
I also vote yes, I would like to hear this. And 100 is not too much to ask to speak up for it.
Thanks for updating your list to be more informative!
"Yes"
Having read that post and some of the tweets surrounding it, everyone involved in that drama is a nightmare person, holy fuck.
I've never seen a single shred of proof and I believe you to be factually innocent of everything that you've been accused of. Some very bad people have run amok in the industry for too long and have used you as a scapegoat for their bad behavior.
I, for one, would love to hear what you have to say.
Voting yes
Oh-oh! Now I remember who that person is. The "I hate Star Wars so much-Star Wars is bad and enabling right-wingers' power fantasies-I never ever watched Star Wars because it is so bad and you should hate it like I do".
Now that whole personal relationship story really freaks me out, but that's not important here...
I would like the unknown story about those people and what they had done to be published.
Yes, please.
+1
I'm interested.
Spill that tea!
Give us that sweet sweet Vampire drama
vote.
Go on then
Do tell.
Let's go to 100!
I'm interested.
Do go on please, I would love to hear it.
Yes, please.
Vote.
Of course I would like to hear your account. It might take a while to get enough posters but I do believe there are enough who still follow and want to hear the truth from someone who was there.
I vote yes.
I vote yes.
I vote yes
Vote.
I vote, "Yes, I care."
I vote yes
I vote yes
I'd love to hear it.
I vote yes. I admit, I am curious about the controversy behind V5 - I was aware that there was some, but was never entirely sure what it was.
I vote yes.
I've come a cross Olivia Hill's work and name in a number of World of Darkness projects over the years, but her work never really stood out to me (with the exception of Dark Ages Vampire 20th Anniversary edition, which as a mess). I never engaged with the rpg.net, G+ or Twitter side of the rpg industry. It wasn't until the debacle that was the launch of Vampire 5th edition that the frankly outrageous conduct of Hill, Filamena Young, Holden Shearer and whatever that dog with dice (or whatever that blog account was called) et al caught my attention, and pretty much soured me on the roleplaying "community."
I would like to hear your side of the story, Zak, and if there are receipts I'd like to see them. I know Hill certainly never posted any, only making vague allegations about how painful it would be to relive that trauma, or similar. I wouldn't mind seeing accounts settled.
Also vote yes. But why 100 votes?
I am in favor of you spilling the tea on Olivia Hill.
Please lets hear it
I'm curious because the result, 5e, well...
I'll vote yes.
Well Zak, I vote yes. I don't know you, but I heard "Olivia's" histrionic rantings about you for years, never believing that obvious bullshit. I would love to hear your side of the story.
And for the record, yes, you were right to criticize "Olivia" for hating on Star Wars without having actually viewed a single movie. Really ethical media criticism there, "Olivia."
I wish I didn't care. I really, really wish I didn't care.
I have become more and more aware lately of the extent to which RPGs (whether you define it as 'industry', 'hobby', or 'community') have been a toxic whirlpool for what feels like the last two decades, if not longer. I wish I could just stop caring and walk away.
But I can't. Not yet. So I vote yes. The stories need to be out there, and need to be told. I don't know if it will keep the same mistakes from happening again, but too much of the story of rpgs has been hidden away, controlled by a handful of people happy to lie in order to make themselves look good.
We need the goddamn receipts.
I am highly curious about what you have to say
I'd like to hear about what happened.
Vote yes, wanna know
I vote Yes. I am curious to know about the details of Vampire 5e.
I vote yes ! I’d like to hear about it as well.
Go for it!
I never usually comment on your blog but I'm really interested.
First time commenter. I appreciate your work and your intransigence when it comes to bullies and panic mongers. I care, and vote YES.
88th comment. Yes.
Extremely long-time reader, here.
I definitely want to hear this story.
I would like to hear the whole story.
Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum.
“Let justice be done though the heavens fall."
As a gamer of over 40 years, my opinion is that this new woke puritanism has done far more damage to the hobby than the satanic panic ever did in the 80's. Such that I derive great delight in the excessive detailing of sjw's falling on their own swords. Lay it on us, Brother Zak.
Yes, please
Yes please
Yessir
It's time for a Zak comeback. Long past time.
I gotta. Lemme know!
I still care.
Another 1
Yeah
Yes. Hill and Young have years of bad action to account for.
I am SO here for this.
I would love to know the specifics of how one of my favorite settings went down in flames.
Sign me up.
I'd give my right eye to know the details, I've spent months trying to put the pieces together
I'm here for the dirt on Paradox. Give it up.
Yes please. Speak truth to power.
Make sure to post screenshots too lol
I'm in for the story
We will need one more vote.
I Cleaned up the comments by erasing non-vote comments to make it easier to count, consolidating my previous comments:
@anons and unknowns
Non anonymous comments allowed, use a persistent identity.
@J Baker
You made an accusation about Olivia and were asked for proof then didn't respond or provide it--you're banned until you address that problem.
@Matrox Lusch
voted and left this link to something shitty and dishonest Olivia did back in the day http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2017/02/david-hill-is-liar.html
@CaptainIntegrity
Deleted. You made a first-strike personal attack, that makes you a harasser and so you're now banned. If you believe this was an error, leave a comment saying why and giving proof, if you wish to comment again otherwise, publicly apologize and take steps to undo the harm you did.
Amogus posted the lyrics to Only You but I deleted them just because I want to keep the tally clean. the version by the Flying Pickets is the best. Especially at the end of Fallen Angels.
----
Since this comment includes a note of Matrox's vote (otherwise erased), the vote tally now matches the comment tally.
You need 100 comments, and I get to be the 100th?
Hell yes. I'm down for hearing more about it.
It's like watching a house of cards fall apart.
I care. I vote to hear your story!
Woo hoo!
I definitely want to hear your side of the story.
I just stumbled onto this blog and only have a very vague idea about the Vampire 5e drama (I saw a Reddit post that referenced it and was kind of surprised that Kenneth Hite was involved in drama, but never looked too deep into it). I would be very interested in reading your story.
you frighten me, zak
@amogus
Say why.
I'll bite, I want to hear it!
interested in the story
I vote yes. This gotta be good.
Ok, gonna get all the material together. Right now I plan to put it up May 1st.
Yazoo cover is way better than the pickets version
Fallen Angels was pretty good tho. Wong Kar Wai is a gosh darn master.
I care a great deal about this. I was really upset regarding this whole hubbub, but have only my own very limited knowledge of what happened and that's not really sufficient.
I vote yes and would note that it matters because people need to know so that they can protect themselves from behavior like this. It is very tough for the victim to come out but it can actually save lives. I say this as a therapist with experience of other therapists abusing their clients.
Whether or not you do it, know that you are supported to tell your truth!
I would very much like to hear about it.
Someone made a positive youtube video on you
https://youtu.be/TDFKcQXrtQk
thought you might want to know.
Hope you are doing well Zak
Someone made a positive youtube video on you
https://youtu.be/TDFKcQXrtQk
thought you might want to know.
Hope you are doing well Zak
@MDPB
@Rourk
I'm doing terrible of course, but I appreciate the link
@Tenkar
Your comment is erased. You've made first-strike personal attacks. You aren't allowed to post until you apologize to your victims and fix the problems you've created by doing that.
@unknown
Sorry no anonymous comments allowed.
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