Diplomacy errors.

I do not know the reasons behind the bans issued to certain users who raised discussion about an admin, nor do I care, and neither am I disputing them.

However, the way the staff manages situations reflects strongly on the site, and the recent situation seems to have been handled rather poorly: first, in hiding such a heated topic after most of the community viewed it, with no public response; and second, by encouraging users to speak freely on the topic, only to have several of the more outspoken ones banned afterwards with no public disclosure of their ban reasons. Consciously or not (and true or not), you've made the situation worse by filling the image of unjust censorship perfectly. The only things these actions accomplished are suspicion and whispers propagating the same information the site tried to suppress: a fact evident by the queries posed in a staff member's intro thread, "where did [username here] go?" thread, requests for answers in this forum, etc, and which I'd hazard a guess led to the subsequent actions of the members who were banned. (Unlike Cfrey, I don't imagine Tyro drawing up drama merely for drama's sake; rather, as a former admin, I would assume he merely felt an obligation to speak out against what he perceived to be a significant problem - something I myself might do - and which only escalated when his concerns were summarily dismissed without a response. Significantly, the fact that he initially asked for Sythe's permission and posted from his account, as opposed to a decoy leecher, suggests his original intent was not malicious at all.)

I know the staff well enough to believe the bans were warranted, since the outcry from individual staff members would have been thunderous, otherwise. However, I'd hazard that the bans would not have been necessary if the situation were handled more delicately in the first place. More generally, the site needs to be more aware of the image it presents, especially when it comes to such sensitive issues: my confidence in staff is derived only from the time I've served on it. The majority of users are not in the same position.

I do not support full transparency, but there are times when at least limited transparency is appropriate. I would argue this situation - accusations against an admin that have been dug up time and time again - is one of them.

 

I hope you don't get banned for posting this.

I completely agree with you. I couldn't have said it better.

 

I am inclined to agree with you. I realize that I have not been with Sythe for very long, but I have noticed moderate changes in the way the site functions lately.

I also hope that you receive no penalty for posting your opinion.

 

The difference between contempt and seeking answers is arbitrary in this situation.

 

I believe my feedback to be perfectly in line with what is permitted by the section. As stated above, I don't believe the bans were issued as a random retaliation, as it may have appeared; at most, the thread will be locked.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean to say by this. Where does contempt enter? Answers are about image - things like this have a large impact on members and how they regard the site; for my first 2-3 months on this site, I was convinced the staff was a bundle of corruption (a conviction I wasn't cured of until I became staff), and the complete lack of transparency seen here is exactly the sort of driving force behind that perception.

 

Sin.. How I wish I could write like you. Perfect!

Per SMR's advice, I've been told to "Tread Lightly"... lol, yeah ok. Everyone knows I can't do that..

There comes a point when the issues presented by the community must be addressed as history will show Finn's style of leadership/ethics have been a topic since I've been here. Are you to keep banning the members and staff that speak out? As for the members being rude which is why you say they're banned, how about the staff that have totally addressed this matter poorly? Your negative responses to a thread that was "Approved" by Richard is what turned the community and select members negative. Eventually this site will listen and professionally address the community or you'll find yourself in darkness, all alone... It is time we address the issue that continues to cause this site pain. Remove Finn from Admin and you'll see positive changes.

If Tyro is to remain banned, I'd like to offer him a site of his own.. He did nothing wrong; correct the mistake.

 

I have talked to lots of members and moderators and all I can see from the situation is that people are scared to say their opinion. No one wants to give bad feedback any more because every one but a few that did is now banned. I'm not complaining about this I'm just saying it's scared people from saying their true opinion. I agree that the whole situation could been handled in a much better way. Maybe if people pm'd their personal ideas to Sythe instead of posting them so they wouldn't hide their true emotions in fear of the ban hammer.

 

I'll justify the bans I made myself:

Draucia - he was pardoned when he shouldn't have been at Pen's arbitrary decision, when several current admins including myself feel that he should not have been pardoned, and Sythe approved of that ban. I felt there was no need to waste my time dealing with him.

Skillers FTW - he saved copies of each page of the Finn thread and hosted it elsewhere without our permission. That alone was not only grounds for a ban but also for a DMCA cease and desist message to his host, which fortunately resulted in the pages being removed from his site.

Magic Arrow - I may consider reducing his ban to a week, but it was not his posts in the Finn thread that resulted in his banning; it was his disgusting childish attitude, hate threads, flaming and trolling that prompted my decision to ban him. He was seeing red after being told that there were 'administrative privileges' that he was not entitled to, and he really could have handled his disagreement with that much better.

 

Tyro?

 

I didn't ban Tyro, nor was I really involved in his banning.

 

Sythe let him make the thread. Why was he banned for it? Or was it for something else? (Sorry if you count this as annoying but I don't see how he should be banned for doing a Sythe approved thread.)

 

Right, looks like Sythe himself banned him. I can't argue against that.

But Draucia, really? He was pardoned by Pen, whom was an administrator who primarily dealt with the pardons himself. I don't think Draucia was creating or causing any sort of drama. He was just speaking his opinion on that thread that Tyro created.

 

Empty or not, threats like that coming from members who really shouldn't even be here are not worth our time.

 

I completely agree and have been stressing very similar ideas for quite a while now. Time and time again the site has relied on censorship about issues that the community has thought were important and that had no reason to be censored. I was at one point told that if I posted anything more that was not positive in the feedback forum, I would be banned. There are solutions to problems and I don't see why they can not be explored in a, at least somewhat, public way.

 

Draucia - Last thing we wish to do is waste your time.. Sorry, but Pen made the right call.

Skillers FTW - This DMCA threat may work on the typical 13 year-old, but even I think you went way overboard considering the thread

Magic Arrow - Good Decision as you had no grounds other than "administrative privileges" to ban him..

SMR.. Come on, admit you've made an error? AdminCP sounds like the right place to visit.

 

How is that a threat?

 

lol.. And you're using this as justification? please

 

How is that a threat? I have done the exact same thing and I am not banned. Google also has saved copies of almost the entirety of Sythe. There is nothing illegal about it nor threatening about it. The thread had no reason to be removed anyways as none of the information provided was out of the public domain.

 

Thank you for explaining some of the ban reasons.

I am also interested to hear from Sythe or someone regarding Tyro's ban. I am inclined to believe that it was due to distributing copies of the post.

EDIT:

After reading Spyike's comment, I couldn't agree more with him.

 

A note to users:
This is not a forum to debate the decisions; and I'd remind you that the attempt to debate them is likely why said details were not released in the first place. It is the site's policy for decisions of staff to remain as such, and your opinions will not change that unless voiced through another staff member.

Be content with knowing why things happened, as it beats being kept in the dark. Perhaps then staff will be more willing to release details in the future.

Thanks SMR for posting about the bans you issued.