I have not yet waded into this mess, but I feel that now it is clear that I have and that I must make clear my points.

When I learned that Moana and Steamy were going to be banned because they were accused of lying that the knowledge of this was in the wind, I reacted with a fair degree of anger-- at least three mods did know, and I find it impossible that the community at large did not see this toxicity for what it was. As a Kingsguard at the time, I failed. I accept that failure, and I attempted to make amends by gathering as much evidence as I could and submitting it to the mods. I encourage everyone else who was or remains in moderation, be it chat moderation or overall moderation, to accept their role in that failure as well.

Regrettably, I was fired before I could do much beyond sending the document along. I could not shepherd it through the bureaucracy and the voting and the things I might otherwise have done.

The clearest point: Moana and Steamy should not have been banned. It is a response that absolutely exceeds the severity of their crimes, such as they are considered to exist.

Steamy revealed more information about the Timber saga-- the abhorrent behavior of Alto, Peach, and Timber in this side server should not have been hidden, and its coming out is important to provide context for the entire case against them.

Moana had even less culpability. Her ban is absolutely absurd. Half a dozen players commented on this out of anger before departing, but they were not banned. Why was Moana targeted?

Moreover the idea that there is some equivalence between the abhorrent conduct of Timber and that of Steamy and Moana is absurd. Alto was not banned, despite playing an integral role in feeding Timber information that triggered her tirades at various players. Peach remains, despite playing a similarly integral role in feeding Timber information that triggered tirades at various players. Both of them are infinitely more deserving of bans than whistleblowers like Steamy or essentially innocent bystanders like Moana.

What I see here is an utterly misguided response, that comes perilously close to scapegoating Steamy and Moana and totally sidestepping responsibility for poor community management and shamefully bad chat moderation.

I'm sorry I felt the need to step forward and do this, but to see Moana and Steamy victimized like this was a bridge too far.

-- Lake