tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post3728054866926238727..comments2024-03-26T02:03:33.336-07:00Comments on Mazirian's Garden: CrossroadsBen L.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04568198881628052274noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-13157336443350347152019-04-23T05:48:48.157-07:002019-04-23T05:48:48.157-07:00How does he do his art?How does he do his art?Jay Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069789456292604679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-44349745882040676422019-02-26T07:53:40.063-08:002019-02-26T07:53:40.063-08:00Thanks Brandon for sharing, some parts were diffic...Thanks Brandon for sharing, some parts were difficult to read. I hope we can now interact more freely. <3Evlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15442829447189093399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-33928800154453908842019-02-26T07:51:49.491-08:002019-02-26T07:51:49.491-08:00This is also my take, in the long run Zak made the...This is also my take, in the long run Zak made the OSR a poorer place. My world also shrunk a lot because of his influence, too many creative people that motivated me to create left that space (or RPGs in general) this is one of the reason why I eventually left the RPG scene too. I am glad now that I can comeback from my exile. Evlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15442829447189093399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-22910962868070729382019-02-26T07:45:54.317-08:002019-02-26T07:45:54.317-08:00He made good stuff but a lot of people do to. They...He made good stuff but a lot of people do to. They just don't play being geniuses. We are easily starstruck by people who are published by established editors. Evlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15442829447189093399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-47150788631622642932019-02-17T09:23:57.314-08:002019-02-17T09:23:57.314-08:00Thank you Ben, that's really nice of you to sa...Thank you Ben, that's really nice of you to say. My blog is still going strong, so I hope you'll stay in touch. I've added your blog to my Feedly :)Michael S/Chgowizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052820400496340137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-60202061033074167882019-02-17T08:11:27.128-08:002019-02-17T08:11:27.128-08:00Michael, I've always appreciated your contribu...Michael, I've always appreciated your contributions on G+ and in other places, so nice to meet you too here. And I'm glad that you think it will continue. Ben L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04568198881628052274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-19863008743269083912019-02-17T06:14:48.383-08:002019-02-17T06:14:48.383-08:00As someone who was in the OR before Zak came in, i...As someone who was in the OR before Zak came in, it will be just fine. It survived the move from forums to blogs. From blogs to G+. It's hard to kill ideas and concepts. It will still be there.<br /><br />I don't know you, but your words are sincere and I think you did good here. Nice to meet you.Michael S/Chgowizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052820400496340137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-73955842458347059182019-02-16T12:07:51.819-08:002019-02-16T12:07:51.819-08:00"When we talked it was like I was speaking to..."When we talked it was like I was speaking to a completely different person from online Zak."<br /><br />You WERE.<br /><br />Zak, like many abusers, aggressively compartmentalized and never let anyone see the complete picture. To some degree this is healthy, as we don't share the same selves with our children as our lovers, but not when used to isolate people into easily manipulatable groups like he did.<br /><br />Thankfully this tactic has an expiration date. Sadly it was over a decade in this case.Anon Adderlanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722948477733747903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-6051381693973708682019-02-16T11:52:19.278-08:002019-02-16T11:52:19.278-08:00"There should not be, and never should have b..."There should not be, and never should have been, someone in the community that had so much power that they were essentially thought police."<br /><br />Thing is the community ITSELF engenders (if not endorses) this, and until that changes other abusers will merely take his place. Sociopaths thrive where blind faith prevails, as it allows them to avoid the light of inquiry.<br /><br />At least until they run out of heretics to go after.Anon Adderlanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722948477733747903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-49568921019834538422019-02-16T07:57:10.733-08:002019-02-16T07:57:10.733-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.brandon karlishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03965986442476126755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-42649373183199704022019-02-15T23:29:35.360-08:002019-02-15T23:29:35.360-08:00What's your Twitter, Brandon? I'd like to ...What's your Twitter, Brandon? I'd like to follow you.Jorge Jaramillo Villarruelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09173856214194315781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-58942372060499929602019-02-15T22:11:54.986-08:002019-02-15T22:11:54.986-08:00Great post, thank you (though I've selfishly a...Great post, thank you (though I've selfishly admit that I also liked the insights into OSR culture & history).Shannon Appelclinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10454937577535623129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-36514421470901673082019-02-15T19:10:50.890-08:002019-02-15T19:10:50.890-08:00Jorge, Yes Exactly! This is what we have to do.Jorge, Yes Exactly! This is what we have to do.Ben L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04568198881628052274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-46524383943534421132019-02-15T18:33:46.795-08:002019-02-15T18:33:46.795-08:00Sure, Zak was a big contributor to the OSR, he mad...Sure, Zak was a big contributor to the OSR, he made stuff, good and free, and plenty. Now we are who make plenty of good and free stuff. We need to collaborate, to make the community stronger. I will start by sharing the blogs I like, with a brief comment on why I like and how we can use the tools it's about (or whatever it is about). I will translate some of the tools I have written in my blog (in Spanish) and make PDFs for download. I will support authors I like and authors I don't know of, and then promote their works, not only when they are stellar, but also when they have even a single good thing (and to be honest, most products include at least one good thing, or more).<br /><br />Yesterday I posted a review of Woodfall on reddit and one guy told me he liked it and that he would like to read more reviews on reddit. I liked reading that and I will make more reviews there, whenever I have the time.Jorge Jaramillo Villarruelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09173856214194315781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-77289394418373656632019-02-15T17:34:38.190-08:002019-02-15T17:34:38.190-08:00Thanks for sharing this.Thanks for sharing this.Skerpleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-9693950892289612672019-02-15T16:59:34.908-08:002019-02-15T16:59:34.908-08:00I'm glad to read this post. My impression of y...I'm glad to read this post. My impression of you has always been that you sincerely want to promote a safe, kind and inclusive community. That impression was always tempered for me by your association with Zak (such as it was).<br /><br />I am principally grateful to read support and contrition for those people who have been hurt by Zak's actions. I don't know how many of them will see these posts, but I hope it helps at least some of them.<br /><br />On a selfish note, I am glad to see the post because the possible presence of Zak, and your support of the Demon City Kickstarter, caused me to withdraw from the Ultan's Door game and community due to discomfort about being involved with thins Zak was near (as it transpires, that was perhaps unnecessary).Dave Sealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14665219936632546879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-66886027847638352032019-02-15T13:31:04.840-08:002019-02-15T13:31:04.840-08:00It was something like three years ago I first read...It was something like three years ago I first read some of the things this guy shamelessly posted on the internet and wondered, how in god's name he was so popular and widely accepted. I never talked to him because you don't need to talk to someone that writes like he does to understand what and who they are. Checking blogs today, I'm glad this has finally happened. Hopefully, he becomes the pariah he should have been all along.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00887182346953090322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-56068760587959950762019-02-15T13:30:15.169-08:002019-02-15T13:30:15.169-08:00I bought the first issue of your zine based on the...I bought the first issue of your zine based on the beautiful aesthetic and my own abiding interest in the subject matter. But I almost didn't, because it got Zak's "seal of approval." See, I'm one of those folks that were hounded by him...most likely because of my association with the SG crowd, though in truth I've always loved both Story Games and OSR, but never felt safe in OSR circles. I appreciate everything you've written here, and am glad I acted on my own interests by giving your zine a look rather than allow Zak to continue to make my world smaller. Reneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15688972226193612658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-17274603771905137292019-02-15T11:38:39.449-08:002019-02-15T11:38:39.449-08:00"The future for the OSR is uncertain at best ..."The future for the OSR is uncertain at best with google plus going away, and now this. I don't know if the community will survive."<br /><br />I follow people like Diogo Nogueira, Scott Malthouse, Luka Rejec and you can be sure that his outing just opened more spots for decent people to thriveThiagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15360521150362986071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-52891619629442142602019-02-15T10:18:39.027-08:002019-02-15T10:18:39.027-08:00Thanks, Ben. Thanks, Ben. Tore Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16180214773828769859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-19464647003819736832019-02-15T07:59:36.678-08:002019-02-15T07:59:36.678-08:00I had initially been impressed with some of the ra...I had initially been impressed with some of the random tables in his products, which I had bought at a steep discount via bundle of holding. I had followed him for about a minute, and when I started hearing things, and saw a little something about how he actually did his art (I am an illustrator and have a BFA) I started unfollowing but that didn't keep me from being named in comments and +1 shamed. Then I blocked.Gwythainthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05184355400691527355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-36263965475584306582019-02-15T07:47:22.111-08:002019-02-15T07:47:22.111-08:00Brandon D thanks for sharing that. It's true t...Brandon D thanks for sharing that. It's true that it turned so many people away. And it kept others quiet who might have been more forthcoming. I have no way of knowing how many, but I think it's a lot.Ben L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04568198881628052274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-24587713074180373952019-02-15T06:27:58.318-08:002019-02-15T06:27:58.318-08:00Thank you for your thoughts. I don't have muc...Thank you for your thoughts. I don't have much to add, except that your story of Evlyn mirrors my own. Zak called me out personally - it was one of those things he did (he did the same thing to anyone who liked Patrick's initial post) where he sent me a private message to the effect of, "Hey Brandon, I see you liked a post by Evlyn while she's slandering me. You should apologize and remove your like or we will no longer talk" And to my shame, I actually freaking apologized to him. I did it pretty half-assedly, but it was good enough to appease him, which means he won and I succumbed to his threat just to stay on his good side.<br /><br />I hate so much that I didn't support Evlyn. I had already worked on a project with her and was hoping to work on a second one. And I hate that I no longer have contact with her, other than just passively following her instagram account.<br /> <br />I also have some thoughts on the conflicts between "Zak's OSR" and various other "groups." I felt for years that a lot of the disagreements stemmed almost solely (though obviously not completely) from Zak's irrationality. I won't name the person I'm about to speak of, but there was a new artist in the community (he'd been registered for less than a week) who asked a question about something. I popped in and said something to the effect of, "This is what the deal is. I think you can find out more about it on Tenkar's blog." This new person's response was, "Thanks Brandon, but I have everything of Tenkar blocked and would never visit his site." I was blown away that someone who had only been around for a week had already made such a huge decision that someone else was that dismissable. I mean, I don't love Tenkar or agree with him on everything, but his blog is a community and he occasionally brings up useful stuff. So for curiosity, I browsed this artists past comments. And what I found horrified me. His second day there, he had asked a question to the general public of "Who should I follow for great RPG news?" Someone had responded "Tenkar's Tavern," and immediately, Zak had popped into the thread and said, "You should know that Eric Tenkar is a terrible person and his blog is nothing but lies, you should definitely not follow him." The new artist said, "Okay," and apparently, that was that.<br /> <br />This is bullshit. There should not be, and never should have been, someone in the community that had so much power that they were essentially thought police. And this mentality contaminated the entirety of the G plus OSR communities. I saw it all the time. Some of Zak's most rabid supporters would pipe in with the same types of statements. This shit actually led me to create a private Circle of the people Zak hated just so I could check in every now and then and see what was so evil about them. And guess what? Almost all they were doing was talking about nerd games.<br /><br />Zak was the primary (though not the only) reason I shut down my G plus account and stayed away from DnD and OSR for 16 months. I just couldn't take the drama and hate anymore, and he was everywhere. I stuck around on blogs for awhile, posting under a pseudonym just so I could avoid his wrath if I ever stepped out of line, but that only lasted a few weeks.<br /><br />The crazy thing is, Zak being outed for what he is has actually helped me relieve myself a bit. It's shamefully cathartic to see that hundreds of other people were also in the same situation, over and over again, and it wasn't just me being weak - though I was - it was a skilled manipulator and terrible person creating a system where he had the power to do those things.<br /><br />In the past three days, I've contributed to multiple blogs that I haven't read in months, and have reopened my twitter account and started talking D&D again. Hopefully, this continues.brandon karlishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03965986442476126755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-58842404681862450872019-02-15T05:41:56.666-08:002019-02-15T05:41:56.666-08:00I don't really follow the osr in general but E...I don't really follow the osr in general but Evelyn was someone I did follow and her leaving sucked. Thank you for your introspection.instantapathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15987839802585639680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202612634352350608.post-68176817164199688312019-02-15T04:44:07.152-08:002019-02-15T04:44:07.152-08:00You're a good guy, Ben. This is well-put.You're a good guy, Ben. This is well-put.Owen Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02033345001593862263noreply@blogger.com