I just got this last week.
It's from a friend who saw my ex- and I every week. As usual, we stayed friends after and she didn't believe any of the bullshit, but she moved upstate a few years back.
You can't make this shit up:
Everyone who wanted to spread this bullshit took spreading it very seriously. Everyone who knew it was bullshit, well, the nicest way to say this is: they're somewhat less dialed-in.
I would say I don't know whether to laugh or cry but I don't do either any more.
There's no lesson here, we're all fucked. Happy Holidays.
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38 comments:
this is horrible. there should be an option to sue for stuff like this. it's insane. sorry this is your reality
@coral wave
The good news is if it bothers you there's a lot you can do.
"Excuse me ma'am what in the actual fuck?!"
Had there been any "red flags" of sorts? it's so... sudden, so absolutely random
in the words of the sage, "as all things, this too shall pass. it may pass like a kidney stone, but..."
@remial
What reason do you have to believe it will pass?
How could people be so irresponsible??? They probably didn't learn anything either.
I'm going to ask the question you've already answered in the post- Are you OK?
Or more specifically, are you going to hurt yourself?
I've been pondering over the cubeworld release and it has kind of baffled me. Why free? Why limited time? Well, I'm not an expert or anything, but giving away things is kind of an indicator that someone is contemplating suicide.
Or maybe it is genius marketing and community building in the face of adversity. The point are a) I don't know b) I care c) I can't think of a better way of reaching out other than to just ask.
Shoot, I'm on the other side of the world and I don't even have much to offer other than an invitation to play with a bunch of non-cutting edge middle aged dad's online (a far cry from your own group I guess).
You say "there is a lot you can do" @coral wave. So what can we (I) do?
@Tim Hall
Of COURSE I am not ok. You just read a blog entry where I describe not being ok in great detail.
If you care, then you have a LOT to offer. Most people do not care and so offer nothing.
If you care, email zakzsmith AT hawtmayle dawt calm and ask what you can do.
The way it ends is revolution. It's rendering the old guard irrelevant by ignoring them completely.
And they are the old guard - this current generation of roleplay-arbiters and incestual back-patters. They just don't realise it yet. The times are changing.
Get the catharsis out, clear your name, make your points. But in the end it won't be about proving them wrong. It'll be about building something new.
@omniclasm
That's not accurate, it's wishful thinking.
There's no amount of "building something new" that erases a smear all over the internet that affects your entire life. You take it on directly or die. Period.
I would call it not wishful thinking, but resignation. Giving up on the wider internet and focusing on the people close to you, the people who already want to hear what you've got to say.
Not everyone will like you in life. A lot of people will hate you for no reason at all besides "vibe". I spent years trying to clear my name for a bunch of lies and hearsay. Eventually I felt like I'd done enough. And I moved on, and I'm generally happy.
It took a hell of a lot of doing and some therapy besides, and it took a piece of me, but I'm still kicking. I eventually stopped caring about those whose opinions don't deserve my energy.
Your situation is bigger, harder, more life-affecting. It's more legal. But I believe the principle is the same, just writ larger. I don't mean to be patronising - you have a right to feel bleak. But you have many people rooting for you.
@omniclasm
I am not concerned whether people like me as an end in itself.
I am concerned at literal and material opportunities lost due to the smear--and the massive drop in quality of life concerned.
Fuck a cope.
I will win or die.
@anonymous
No anonymous comments allowed.
This if a fucking tragedy. No laughs for me, at least. Take care, Zak.
have been watching this for a while and mostly wondering what to do or say to focus you away from becoming depressed about it all. It’s easy to attach to the heavy stuff. Oscar Wild said even bad press is good press. Notoriety is a commercial vehicle. As far as the background situation is concerned, the industry is changing. We have print-on-demand technology now which makes it easier for people to start their own publishing without having to rely on expense of printing books up front, storing them, trying to sell them. Without having to rely on the gate-keepers of yesteryear. You’re unique in that your stuff sells out faster than it can be printed, you do have a fan base of people who want your work, who respect you, who can see how heavy it’s been for you. Focus on that big silver lining instead of the toxic cloud which the sociopaths want you to dwell in for their own jealous petty reasons. It’s what it comes down to. You have people rallying to support you. It’s more than the derogatory faction have. Their master is envy because they are too broken to connect with creativity, so they want you to be broken too. The healing path of course is the creativity.
Those people probably never will learn much either. We have to accept that about them, their purpose is to be npc’s. Our problem is empathy, we give them too much credibility in the hope they have the same level of humanitarianism as most of us want to connect with. Some of them just don’t have that faculty. I suppose it’s neuro-diversity so we have to accept it as such. Half of all people are less than average intelligence. Just sucks they’re judgemental instead of intuitive.
@snakeappletree
"Notoriety is a commercial vehicle"
If what I wanted was money, then this would be a meaningful argument.
"The healing path of course is the creativity."
Of course it isn't.
I don't need "healing" or to produce more things for snakeappletree to look at.
I need -my life back- which requires me being able to act using -my reputation-.
Nothing you spoke about addresses that and it's incredibly depressing that I have to explain this 100 times to you
It does, although knowing what to do about it is not always so obvious.
@snakeappletree
What to do is email me and ask what you can do to help.
"We're all fucked. Happy Holidays." Sure would make a timeless greeting card.
Making smalltalk before asking for a favour < idly discussing someone's downfall before asking for a dick pic
1 % have stood up against Zak but they occupy 99 % of the room
I’m afraid people don’t care that much about justice...
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing”
I'm open to suggestions
Apologies Zak. It's because you were talking about how the damage inflicted on your reputation has cost you long-term prospects of financial security. Reputation is a strange thing. Everyone assumes it is a singularity. Your reputation with the people blessed with intelligence to see the situation for what it is, are all backing you 100% - its the trolls who have a different version, the way trolls do. The only thing I can say here is to 'work with what works'.
@coral wave
My suggestion is:
email zakzsmith AT hawtmayle dawt calm and say you want to help
@snakeappletree
If the trolls had no influence on anyone else that would be a rational claim.
They do have an influence so its not.
optimism? wishful thinking?
It's a bizarre comment at the end, are they that heartless? Its odd to me as I never came across such 'users'. How did TTRPG get so poisonous?
It's none of my business, which is exactly the point. Ancillary defamation should be a crime. My suspicion is that small minds love to bring down talented, arrogant men. Those men are threatening, and any excuse will do.
@mike lee
That theory doesn't make sense because i'm not arrogant.
Matter-of-fact often reads as arrogant. I didn't mean it as critique. I mean as a total package, I think you are threatening to some people. Jealousy maybe? Crab barreling... you don't need a lid on a crab barrel because when one crab tries to climb out, the others pull him back down.
@venger satanis
Comment deleted.
To repeat myself yet again:
"You're banned until you correct your incredibly lonnnnnnng record of misinformation and first-strike personal attacks."
Not sure why you thought this had (or could) change.
@Zak Sabbath
I don't know the history here of if there other than the qutoe above or if there is even any desire to mend fences.
The guidance for un-banning as written is pretty vague and will likely never be corrected. I doubt you want to be flooded with with a bazillion other posts from elsewhere that are just no personal attacks or misinformation. The solution is just as vague because it doesn't show any writing of past wrongs or future change- it's just noise. I doubt you want to spend X years combing through future posts to see if something has changed.
A public apology for specific wrongs? It might be a starting point, and then future behavior would dictate if change has actually been achieved or not.
One of the worst parts of this is that the trolls don't need to be the majority, or accurate. They just have to be loud.
@Tim Hall
You're right! You don't know the history of all the shit Venger has pulled.
When you're in that position: lead with questions, not advice.
@Zak Sabbath
The advice isn't about Venger really though.
Its about you and conflict resolution. Set measurable, obtainable, actions for others. Otherwise you're not inviting, and thus will not get, any change at all.
@Tim Hall
Venger has been given measurable, obtainable actions many times already.
Here's one for you:
Ask next time and be less condescending.
Some people definitely make me lose faith in human empathy
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