tbh requesting a pardon for several wrongdoings including a permanent ban for plagiarism (Pardon #7)

Your profile link: tbh

Profile links for all of your Sythe accounts: tbh

Report/post/reason that got you banned: TBH recovered my account and stole everything, tbh has scammed and taken the new osmumten's fang, and https://www.sythe.org/threads/4316443/tbh/#post-80663908

Proof of contacting victims for repayment or repayment of victims: https://www.sythe.org/posts/62531788/

Anything you weren't banned for but want to confess to now: N/A

Detailed description of the events that took place and why you think we should forgive you:

My original ban resulted from my actions surrounding an account I sold to THICCNerd in 2022. I sold him a Group Ironman account for $300 in BTC and later recovered that account and brought it back into my own group. When he contacted me about it, rather than immediately admitting what I had done and making it right, I misled him and pretended that I was assisting him with recovering the account.

When the matter was reported and Andy began investigating it, I continued making the situation worse. I removed wealth from the account and attempted to give the impression that the account was being returned in the same state in which I had recovered it. During the investigation, the items THICCNerd had documented were found on my own Group Ironman in the same quantities. I was ultimately required to reimburse him for both the original purchase and the value of the items that had been taken. Despite everything I had done, THICCNerd offered to allow me to repay him through a payment plan. I chose instead to repay what I owed in full.

There was also a separate dispute involving items I retrieved from another member of my group. I maintained then, and still maintain now, that I had permission to access that account and retrieve items I had previously lent to the group, and I provided the relevant conversations during the investigation. However, I also deleted messages between myself and that group member. Regardless of the underlying disagreement about ownership of the items, deleting potentially relevant messages was wrong. It undermined the ability of staff to objectively review what happened and further damaged my credibility at a time when my own actions had already given them every reason not to trust me.

One of the things I regret most when looking back is that, prior to all of this, Sythe was a community I genuinely cared about and participated in beyond simply using the marketplace. I was heavily involved with the Community Development Team and eventually became a leader of the CDT. I contributed to community initiatives, provided free and affordable graphics to members, helped users avoid impostors and use proper PM procedures, and generally tried to make myself useful to the community. I also developed legitimate business relationships through Sythe, including working alongside Zora when we sold Group Ironman items together.

I don't mention those things because I believe they offset what I did. They don't. If anything, they make my actions more disappointing to look back on. I had earned trust, developed relationships, been given responsibility within the community, and built a reputation that I was proud of. Instead of respecting what I had built, I threw it away through my own decisions. Being a CDT leader should have made me more conscious of the standards expected from somebody in a trusted position, not less.

I subsequently submitted several unsuccessful pardons. Looking back at those pardons now, I don't think I completely understood what demonstrating reform actually meant. I was extremely focused on proving that the things I had done were inconsistent with the person I believed myself to be. I listed positive contributions I had made, positions of trust I had held elsewhere, education I was pursuing, and other accomplishments as evidence that I deserved another opportunity. Those things may have been true, but they didn't erase what I had done.

My actions after those pardons make that particularly clear.

After repeatedly being denied, I became frustrated and convinced myself that I was never going to receive a fair opportunity to return. I allowed that frustration to turn into resentment toward Sythe and Andy in particular. Instead of accepting that my previous conduct was the reason I was in that position, I externalized the blame. Eventually, while emotionally fueled by that resentment, I plagiarized Sythe in an attempt to create my own site. That resulted in my permanent ban for plagiarism on June 15, 2024.

I want to be very clear about that because I think leaving it as simply another mistake would minimize what happened. After being banned for dishonest behavior, being given multiple opportunities to request forgiveness, and repeatedly telling staff that I had changed, I responded to rejection by committing another serious offense against the same community whose trust I was asking to regain. Whatever I believed about the pardon decisions at the time did not justify what I did. I was angry, entitled, and looking for someone other than myself to blame for consequences that ultimately began with my own decisions.

Ironically, attempting to build something myself also gave me a much greater appreciation for how much time, money, effort, and trust goes into maintaining a community like Sythe. That does not excuse the plagiarism, but it gave me perspective that I clearly lacked when I did it.

More than two years have now passed since the plagiarism ban, and approximately four years have passed since the events that caused my original ban. I'm not going to claim that the passage of time by itself proves that I have changed. What I can say is that my life and my perspective are substantially different from where they were when these events occurred.

I've continued building my career, completed IT and cybersecurity training and certifications, and taken on considerably more responsibility in my professional and personal life. My circumstances, priorities, and outlook have changed substantially since 2022 and 2024. I don't believe professional advancement, education, or certifications automatically demonstrate reform, but they are parts of the broader growth that has occurred in my life during the years I've been away.

More importantly for this pardon, I've had enough distance from these events to look at them without feeling the need to defend every decision I made or find somebody else to blame for the outcome.

There are portions of my original explanation that I still believe were factually important, particularly regarding the separate group-member dispute. But being right about one detail does not make my overall behavior acceptable. I recovered an account I had sold. I deceived the buyer. I attempted to conceal what happened during the investigation. I deleted potentially relevant messages. Then, years later, when I didn't receive the forgiveness I wanted, I allowed resentment to lead me into plagiarizing the site. Those are my actions, and I accept responsibility for them.

I also understand that repayment was an obligation, not an accomplishment. Paying THICCNerd back corrected the financial loss I caused him; it did not undo the dishonesty or restore the trust I damaged.

I regret the way I treated THICCNerd, the position I put staff in while they were investigating me, and my later conduct toward Sythe. I especially regret that I responded to opportunities for accountability by becoming defensive and eventually hostile rather than accepting that rebuilding trust happens on the community's terms, not mine.

I also regret losing the place I once had within the community. I remember the positive experiences I had through the CDT, the people I worked alongside, the graphics I made for members, the business I conducted, and the relationships I developed. Looking back now, it is difficult knowing that I jeopardized all of that myself. Those memories are part of why returning means something to me beyond simply regaining access to a marketplace.

I am requesting a pardon now because I genuinely believe I am in a different place than I was in 2022 or 2024, and I would appreciate the opportunity to return and rebuild my reputation properly. If I am allowed back, I understand that trust would not automatically return with my account. It would be something I would have to earn through consistent behavior over time.

I also understand that forgiveness is not something I am entitled to simply because several years have passed, because I previously contributed to the community, or because I believe I have matured. The decision belongs to the staff and community reviewing this pardon. Regardless of the outcome, I will respect the decision and will not respond to a denial with the resentment or hostility that I demonstrated in the past.

What I can offer now is accountability without excuses, genuine regret for the harm I caused, and the perspective that I wish I had possessed when all of this began. I cannot change what I did, and I cannot ask my previous contributions to cancel it out. I can only acknowledge both the good reputation I once built and the fact that I was responsible for destroying it.

I hope that, after the time that has passed and the lessons I have learned from these events, I can be given an opportunity to rebuild that reputation and once again contribute positively to the Sythe community.


Have you fully read and followed the pardon rules and requirements in this thread?: Yes, I have fully read and followed the pardon rules and requirements in this thread.

Previous pardon link(s) if applicable: tbh Requesting a Pardon for (DNT), tbh requesting a pardon for numerous instances of severe wrongdoing (Pardon #2), tbh requesting a pardon for numerous instances of severe wrongdoing (Pardon #3), tbh requesting a pardon for numerous instances of severe wrongdoing (Pardon #4), tbh requesting a pardon for numerous instances of severe wrongdoing (Pardon #5), and https://www.sythe.org/threads/tbh-r...rous-instances-of-severe-wrongdoing-pardon-6/