So I am here stepping up, what's your deal? Just want to keep me from getting any new content in print? Seems selfish to me.
Hey, sombodystolemyname.
I'm sure you'll agree that we're all entitled to our opinions. My opinion is that
Zak S. is an asshole. There's almost 40 pages of me explaining why I think he's an
asshole.
I don't buy his work, and I don't care whether he chooses to produce RPG content or not. That said, if you enjoy someone's work, I understand why you'd be legitimately disappointed when a creator chooses not to create because they're being unfairly attacked.
That said, I don't think I've been unfair. Personally, if Zak S. chooses not to produce content because I think he's an asshole, I think he's giving me entirely too much power. But I also think that it is a new point in support of my position that I hadn't brought up before.
In previous conversations with Zak S, he would say something crazy, then
demand that we reach out to 'his girls' to bring them into the conversation. It was clear to everyone that 'reaching out to people' that are not involved in a conversation and demanding that they weigh in would count as a form of harassment, and wouldn't have been appropriate. Of course they're free (as you are) to jump in to a conversation
that they're interested in, but forcing other people to fight your battles
isn't nice.
There are a lot of 'creatives' that have amazing work, but they're also 'not nice'. How many actors have been involved in cases of domestic or sexual assault? How many singers have been involved with cases of sex with minors? If you think that Zak S is a creative with work you want to see, you should tell him that. I was never interested in his creative work, but I have interacted with him. He has
consistently shown himself to be an asshole - not only when dealing with me, but with others, too. Basically, if you DARE to disagree with him, I expect him to be an asshole to you, too. It would certainly fit the pattern.
So I'm sorry that my choice to express my opinion has negative consequences
for you - I don't know you and I don't bear you any ill will - but I'm not sorry that I've chosen to express my opinions. Zak S. doesn't have to PUNISH YOU for my choices - if that's what he chooses to do,
I think that's a dick move, and therefore, I reaffirm my position that
Zak S. is an asshole.
Now, I have told Zak many times that I've said what I wanted to say where I wanted to say it. This corner of the internet is part of the Pundit's PRIVATE FORUM. I am not going to other forums to tell Zak that I think he's an asshole.
On page 25, in the middle of being an asshole, Zak said;
Whoever summoned shitmuffin: let this be a lesson learned, don't do it.
To shitmuffin: fuck you, you're a psychotic asshole who does nothing but talk out his ass. That there is anyone willing to give your narcissistic bullshit the time of day at this point frankly surprises me.
And as I said the last time you reared your disgusting face: don't fucking quote me, you worthless fucking shitstain, or otherwise address me directly. You are a fucking blight, and nothing you say is of any value.
Prove it.
I saw him bullying people (not me, because I hadn't been in the conversation up to this point - the above quote is just one example) so I decided to weigh in:
Hey Zak!
I'm firmly in the camp of 'you're an asshole'. I think you've proved it several times in this thread, and you've certainly proved it many other times and many other places. But part of what makes you an asshole is that you like to demand that I go find multiple conversations and quote them here, then insist that I should have asked for clarification because you are not actually an asshole, and it's MY FAULT if I got that mistaken impression.
Well, we can have an epistemological argument about whether or not it is possible to 'know' whether you're an asshole, but that doesn't sound fun to me. Instead, I'll just go on telling people that I've interacted with you before and I felt that you came across as an asshole. I always hope that other people choose to make their own impressions without relying exclusively on my judgement, but if they're asking for an opinion, I'll certainly give them my honest opinion - which I know you're in support of because you made the claim earlier in this thread that speaking the truth is paramount.
If it makes you feel any better, my opinion carries very little weight with other posters on this forum. In fact, many here might regard me calling you an asshole as a commendation of your personality instead. But I'm not too worried about that - I'm pretty confident that if they keep engaging you in conversation they'll realize that I was right, and maybe they'll evaluate other positions where we've disagreed and make the realization that they were wrong there, too.
I would hope it goes without saying that you shouldn't consider this harassment - you seem to have a burning need to know WHY people don't like you so I'm happy to share. I don't make a habit of following you around and confronting you. It's also not about whether any specific accusations leveled against you are correct or not - I can say that I thought you were an asshole before any allegations of abuse came out. We could debate any number of situations you've factually been in and whether your specific actions would qualify as a 'yes' in any 'AITA' thread, but that would not be fun for me.
"If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."
I think calling someone out on their bullshit is important. Zak also seems to think that it's important. The big difference is, if you decide that I'm a terrible person and you don't like me (or *gasp* that I'm an asshole), I'm capable of letting that go. Not everyone has to like me. Zak appears to harbor some deeply held narcissistic tendencies - choosing to reorder how he lives his life because he thinks that EVERYONE WHO LIKES HIS WORK
is spineless unless they come
fight his battles is some messed up shit. From my perspective, that's typical Zak S, and that's why I think
he's an asshole. I know that everyone has different standards and different tolerances for this type of behavior, so I understand that you might disagree - but I think if you looked at the posts in this thread from a 'reasonable person' standard, you'd see plenty of evidence that someone MIGHT come to the conclusion that
Zak S. is an asshole, just as I have done. I also have SEVERAL MORE conversations that I've engaged in with Zak BEFORE THIS that led me to that position.
If you've been lucky enough to only engage with Zak when EVERYONE agrees with him, there's a good chance you haven't seen the types of behaviors that I'm talking about. I think we all know someone that WE THOUGHT was cool until a specific situation occurred and you decided not to spend time with them because 'omg they're fucking crazy'.
Now, there are lots of good reasons for people WITH SPINES to decide NOT to defend everyone they know, whether the attacks are warranted or not. Nobody has to spend any more time having conversations online than they're willing to spend. Discussing the hobby is supposed to be an enjoyable activity. For that reason, I hope that you, sombodystolemyname, feel that coming here and posting is a valuable use of your time.
That said, I didn't have to call Zak
an asshole anymore until/unless we go to the next page, but if someone wants to know why I think
Zak S. is an asshole, I'm happy to share.
"Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others."-Otto von Bismark
I think it's a mistake to engage with Zak, and I think that warning people in advance is a valuable service. If you disagree, I encourage you to use your platform(s) and join 'Team Zak S'. But I'd caution you - there are a lot of people who were once very close to Zak that don't have a relationship anymore. It's possible that every one of those failed relationships involved Zak as an innocent victim, but I'd point out that the one thing they all had in common was Zak - that kinda implies that he's at least part of the problem. If I were in your position I'd probably try telling Zak that I love his work and I think he should make more of it - but that going and engaging with a 'nobody' on the internet just isn't worth his time or even a second thought. That's a healthy way to live your life. I happen to know that Zak isn't capable of doing the mature thing, and while I admit that needling him is a truly petty revenge, I do enjoy it.
There's nothing like the anticipation for Zak's next reply for the 30 seconds after I hit post before he slavers an incoherent and irate response that proves my point he claims to be responding to. I invite you to hang out, watch for a little while, and make up your own mind about whether I'm right or not. But hey, even if Zak is an asshole, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy his work.