Hate to gossip, but: Is Mike Mearls in trouble?

[jaappleton]

Last tweet: February 12th, about Zak S and how Zak S was removed from the consultant section of the PHB (I won't talk about why, you can google that if you're unaware)

Last Facebook activity: A damn while ago, like 2017? Seems abandoned. Whatever.

LinkedIn profile: Says he's still at WOTC

Last Happy Fun Hour: Early December, 2018

---

Slice it any way you want, folks, but: Mearls seems to have gone off the grid a bit.

Why? Who the hell knows. I personally hope he's not in any sort of trouble, like some possible suspension or something at WOTC. I know we may not all necessarily like his often OP designs that Jeremy Crawford has to bring down to earth, but I do think he's a good guy.

Hope its just a sabbatical from social media is all.

[GlenSmash!]

I want to say he has been heads down on things since before the Zak S stuff went down.

But my memory is not always trustworthy.

[Vogie]

I think he mentioned in one of his last 2 videos that he was taking time off, but I could be wrong.

[Constructman]

Wasn't he at Gary Con recently? Played a game with Luke Gugax and all that. So it's not like he's locked up in the Hasbro office dungeon or anything.

[GlenSmash!]

Wasn't he at Gary Con recently? Played a game with Luke Gugax and all that. So it's not like he's locked up in the Hasbro office dungeon or anything.

Too bad. I bet there is tons of XP to earn there.

[JakOfAllTirades]

I think he mentioned in one of his last 2 videos that he was taking time off, but I could be wrong.

"Taking time off" is sometimes exactly what it says on the tin. Some companies have a "use it or lose it" policy for accumulated leave so he might need to take those vacation days before they vanish.

OTOH, "taking time off" can also be a corporate euphemism for any number of unpleasant situations. I've got basically zero info so I can't even begin to speculate, and I won't.

[Finback]

There's a quote, "never attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance". In this case, it's entirely possible it's something non-dramatic, like he was feeling stressed from that situation, and decided to take a bunch of annual leave to get some space, or maybe just had a lot of leave ready for a holiday. Pointing to stuff like it being some two years since he used FB is more indicative of him just not using FB much (or not in a public manner) than anything nefarious.

[Tetrasodium]

perhaps he's enjoying a cruise? (https://jococruise.com/overview/) with a bunch of other nerds on his time off?

[Imbalance]

Tbh, we all should abandon fb.

It's fair to be wary of the future of prominent PR types when they go silent, but he's also a creative type. If he's deep into a project he'd probably rather be left alone and won't come up for air until it's done.

[J-H]

{{scrubbed}}

[Scripten]

{{scrubbed}}

...Can we not do this? WOTC and other elements of the TTRPG community are not "un-personing" Zak S. They just decided that they don't want to be associated with someone based on their behavior. FFS, the melodrama and exaggeration in this hobby gets unreal sometimes.

Anyway, on-topic, I imagine Mearls is just taking time off. It's really none of our business if anything is going down in his personal or professional life. While he is in a customer-facing role, there still is an amount of privacy that he is owed.

[NaughtyTiger]

WOTC and other elements of the TTRPG community are not "un-personing" Zak S. They just decided that they don't want to be associated with someone based on their behavior.

whats the difference?

[Fat Rooster]

...Can we not do this? WOTC and other elements of the TTRPG community are not "un-personing" Zak S. They just decided that they don't want to be associated with someone based on their behavior. FFS, the melodrama and exaggeration in this hobby gets unreal sometimes.

Anyway, on-topic, I imagine Mearls is just taking time off. It's really none of our business if anything is going down in his personal or professional life. While he is in a customer-facing role, there still is an amount of privacy that he is owed.

"can we not do this", and then immediately does it... :smallsigh:

I don't see any reason to draw parallels. Certainly no reason to assume anything like the Zak S situation. Probably just taking a slightly less public role. The most likely connection is picking up design work that would otherwise be done by Zak, but they could be entirely unconnected.

To J-H, the only other unpersoning you know of is Stalin. That just means that the rest of the time it has been done better. :smallwink:

[MrStabby]

Choosing to believe he is on paternity leave and wish him my heartfelt congratulations.

[Arkhios]

Guys, the matter itself is already delicate and subject to a lot of assumptions instead of hard facts (none of which are known to us, as far as I can tell), so please, all of you, try to keep the discussion civil instead of throwing accusations against each other.


As for the topic, it could be various things really, and I can't say whether my guess is even close to accurate, but: over the past few years, I've been wondering whether Mearls' hair line has been receding rapidly. Hair loss can be a side effect of certain drugs, such as those used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout and high blood pressure. I'd imagine that being in such a high position in the company could cause multiple of those conditions, namely depression, heart problems, and high blood pressure, if one has family history for any of them. But, again, only a guess.

Mostly because hair loss is sensitive subject to me. Not because I've had any signs of it (yet), but I tend to notice things like that because I have a long hair myself and would be devastated if I lost it :smalleek:

[NaughtyTiger]

Guys, the matter itself is already delicate and subject to a lot of assumptions instead of hard facts (none of which are known to us, as far as I can tell), so please, all of you, try to keep the discussion civil instead of throwing accusations against each other

No accusations thrown by anyone in this thread at any other posters in this thread. In fact this thread is far more civil than any discussion about RAW or rogue archetypes.

[Misterwhisper]

He probably found a new videogame to obsess over.

Expect to see a new subclass based on it in a few months.

[Scripten]

"can we not do this", and then immediately does it... :smallsigh:

You misunderstand my statement. By "this", I meant specifically going off the deep end comparing WOTC distancing themselves from an abuser to treating Zak S like Stalin. It's hyperbole to the extent that it's useless for discussion. It's way too common for people here to have no grasp of nuance or scale.



I don't see any reason to draw parallels. Certainly no reason to assume anything like the Zak S situation. Probably just taking a slightly less public role. The most likely connection is picking up design work that would otherwise be done by Zak, but they could be entirely unconnected.

Zak S was a consultant during playtesting. I don't believe he had any design credit. There's a possibility that Mearls current activity levels relate somehow to the Zak S situation, but we have exactly zero information to go on and all of this is purely conjecture. And pretty uncomfortable to boot.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: Comparisons to Stalin, discussions of "unpersoning", and so on are directly against board policy on politics.

[Arkhios]

-- In fact this thread is far more civil than any discussion about -- rogue archetypes.

I wonder why was it necessary to specifically point towards a thread such as that in the same sentence. As if I've been uncivil in there? Have I?

[Daphne]

I think he's fine, probably just lost the role as face of the company to Crawford.

[Misterwhisper]

I think he's fine, probably just lost the role as face of the company to Crawford.

Makes sense really, Crawford is much more knowledgeable and has an ongoing campaign or whatever.

Mid is not very good at mechanics at all, he is a good lore and idea guy.

He is much more personable than JC though, half the time JC is talking it sounds condescending

[GlenSmash!]

I think he's fine, probably just lost the role as face of the company to Crawford.

Perkins is still very visible too.

Edit: not the answer questions guy, but was recently on thins like CRs Between the Sheets.

[MaxWilson]

I think he's fine, probably just lost the role as face of the company to Crawford.

Note that Crawford has also been reducing his own role as well, e.g. his tweets are no longer to be considered "official" answers. (And that's good, because Twitter is a terrible format for official communications.)

I see no cause for concern here.

[Fat Rooster]

You misunderstand my statement. By "this", I meant specifically going off the deep end comparing WOTC distancing themselves from an abuser to treating Zak S like Stalin. It's hyperbole to the extent that it's useless for discussion. It's way too common for people here to have no grasp of nuance or scale.

Apologies then, as I did misunderstand.


Zak S was a consultant during playtesting. I don't believe he had any design credit. There's a possibility that Mearls current activity levels relate somehow to the Zak S situation, but we have exactly zero information to go on and all of this is purely conjecture. And pretty uncomfortable to boot.
I think you misunderstood my point, as it was pretty much exactly yours. I don't think there is any connection or parallel between the two situations, and there is no evidence of a connection. When I said "most likely" I didn't mean I thought it likely (Not very clear on my part though). We do have two pieces of information though, and they are that Zak S was credited for something, and is now not doing it. That role has fallen to somebody else. The second is that Mike Mearls is now seeming less public. Even if we do insist on connecting these dots, the most natural way isn't to say that Mike Mearls is in trouble.

To clarify; I see no reason to believe that Mike Mearls is in trouble. A change in role is possible, but we have no solid information on whether this has occurred, never mind whether it is positive or negative. If changes are happening at WoTC, they could very well be a reaction to the Zak S situation without anybody else being 'in trouble'.

[Scripten]

Apologies then, as I did misunderstand.

No worries. Just wanted to make sure that I was coming across clearly. Text communication and all that.




I think you misunderstood my point, as it was pretty much exactly yours. I don't think there is any connection or parallel between the two situations, and there is no evidence of a connection. When I said "most likely" I didn't mean I thought it likely (Not very clear on my part though). We do have two pieces of information though, and they are that Zak S was credited for something, and is now not doing it. That role has fallen to somebody else. The second is that Mike Mearls is now seeming less public. Even if we do insist on connecting these dots, the most natural way isn't to say that Mike Mearls is in trouble.

To clarify; I see no reason to believe that Mike Mearls is in trouble. A change in role is possible, but we have no solid information on whether this has occurred, never mind whether it is positive or negative. If changes are happening at WoTC, they could very well be a reaction to the Zak S situation without anybody else being 'in trouble'.

Ah, gotcha. I see what you mean.

[NaughtyTiger]

I wonder why was it necessary to specifically point towards a thread such as that in the same sentence. As if I've been uncivil in there? Have I?

Wrong takeaway from my response... so let's try it this way...

I wonder why it was necessary to specifically tell folks to be civil. As if we were uncivil here?

[Particle_Man]

Maybe Mearls is secretly working on sixth edition?

[Foxhound438]

Maybe Mearls is secretly working on sixth edition?

"i'm gonna go make my own DnD with blackjack and favorable rules for two weapon fighting"

[Rukelnikov]

"i'm gonna go make my own DnD with blackjack and favorable rules for two weapon fighting"

In fact, forget the new edition!

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

Is there a good place I can read up on this "Zak S." situation? I've heard references to it before but don't really know who the guy is or what happened.

[Particle_Man]

Google Zak S controversy