Change. Change can either challenge us or threaten us. It is by which all things must eventually fall. This site is at the apex of change, and with it a means to finally settle by which way this site will be in it's final days. The Escapist is an old girl, one who we've seen in conditions unmatched by her peers, and drug through the mud in ways we was unable to even fathom.
I speak of change, of the nature of the Escapist because I am leery. I am leery to the way things are heading. For a while I have stood up and tried to gather people to listen to a vision of the Escapist I would wish her to have taken hold in her fading years. One of community contributions, of art and discussion. And... and I do not see that as having been what happened.
I'd like to talk about that, and in that I would like to make a defense of Epyc Wynn. An idea I personally would never have thought I'd have done in any other time then the one we are now in. First I'd like to say a few words to the dead dream I had for the Escapist.
I pushed for an elected CM, because I felt it would be a boon to get the suggestions and complaints of the forum goers to a controlled source who would be able to pass them to staff, finally having a connection between the people and the power. I pushed to elect a Cm who could help start a community outreach program. And in the end, when one was declared, suddenly and without discussion. It was the one mod with who the majority disapproved of. Who had a scandal of abusing their power, even of banning dissenting voices. I do not think Basement Cat should hold that seat. I do not think Basement Cat would be unbiased enough to gather the opinion of the community, nor the leadership to be fair to all sides. I do not believe in Basement Cat.
The well of content is dry. Of here it could have been different. I spoke of a community drive. Of having membership donate something. Anything. To have someone filter things out and let those who wanted to take the wheel and water the growth of the forum and content. It didn't have to be much, it didn't have to be all at once, but I have seen great beauty spring from the membership here. I know the members who could do great things. The comic artist, and poets, and storytellers.
Community additions was not made public. It was not given the ability to take ideas from all. A paltry fistful from safe bets, requested in the background and posted to mixed reviews. This was not what I hoped for. This was not the culture of this forum feeding the nature of the site.
The community manager, who needs community support just to fill the front page is silent. I do not see what I have asked for ever coming to pass in these times. Part of it is due I feel to the new dark cloud that has formed over the site through the last few days: The changes in powers, the uncertainty of the rules, and the banning of Epyc Wynn.
Starting with the changes in power, we have Basement Cat, who has had numerous accusations settles against abuses of power. Accusations of banning outright those like American Tanker, of which did get over turned through civil unrest. The reinstating of Topaz, who was removed from power once before for the same abuses that we stand here leery of today, and who's only defense for this decision was that they lived in the right timezone. Not of character or merit, but merely location. The removal of Katherine, who by her own words have been in the background the whole time, and who was given no official reason for this ousting. I would like to know why this happened.
And then we have Bluegate, who was banished for leaking to a member ahead of those on high the plans to cripple him. What he did was taken as treason, though it was the same as what Topaz did before him. Leaking mod chat should have consequences, but the actions of the staff have us concerned as to how we will see the running of the community from here on, and although I do not take Bluegate a martyr, I do take it as a moment of transparency that we have not gotten for quite some time. I had to lash out at Frappe to even get an up-date not that long ago. Because we're not receiving the why of things just the actions taken after, and that has lead to many speaking out on the way of things. And I have a feeling that those who have been leaving comments to the staff have seen those comments erased rather then condensed into the problems we actually have with what is happening.
It is at this point where I would like to talk about Epyc Wynn. Wynn was by all accounts a blusterous rabble-rouser. A person who held in poor regard the methods and membership of the moderation team, and who we all could agree spent much time creating trouble for the forum in the past. And in the past his antics has got him warned for this behavior. We all agree that Wynn deserved these warnings. And we all agree that left alone, Epyc Wynn would eventually be the end of Epyc Wynn.
But for some time, he had been loud but harmless. His dissenting nature against the mods within a reasonable measure, and as such even had warnings removed like any other member. He was, for all intent and purpose an at risk member who was close to ban. Epyc Wynn might have deserved a ban for antics previous, and had he gotten that ban then no one would have batted an eye. Now is not then, and Wynn should have been in no position to lose his membership anymore then anyone else who has spoken out against the mods lately.
What they did to Epyc Wynn was insidious. He had gotten a reprieve, a warning was removed setting him off the cliff. Then they stripped away his pubclub, something that has never happened before in recent times. Had they banned Wynn outright I am sure we would not be talking about this now. He'd have merely been one in many who broke rules and got wrecked for it. But Wynn wasn't breaking rules. Wynn got warnings removed. Wynn wasn't merely banned, they took away his pubclub membership, and dragged him into public where they could ban him for causing a scene. Is this what we have to look forward to, staff depubbing undesirable members from the WW so that the situation could arise to mass ban them? If so I want to hear it from the staff themselves. I want the rules to reflect this new draconian measure. If not then what happened to Wynn was a farce, and like Tanker I request that he be reinstated. He'll eventually screw himself, he can't help it, but this isn't the way things have been done. This wasn't right.
The rules are there to keep fair the membership, and what happened to Wynn was not fair. No one else has had their pubclub removed as a means of control. The mods did not all agree with this decision either. Many stay out of public for that very reason, staying to the quarantine zone. Are you stripping the pubclub from Saelune next? Zontar? CM? Fox? Iceforce? If the answer is no, then how dare you use it against Wynn. Where is the fairness?
We don't know what the rules are, who is enforcing what, and how this will effect the landscape of the site, but there are already concerns. Concerns that some will be singled out quickly to remove those who would speak out the loudest against the current changes. Some that feel that this will be unfair to the community. Some that think that mod transparency will not be withheld. There are concerns, and with what has already been seen, I think those concerns are founded more in fact then mere resistance to change.
I think. I think we are being threatened with change. That whatever rules that are now in vogue needs to quickly be written down, set in stone, and followed fairly and transparently. I think that needs to be the first task of those who have moved into positions of control, because right now we don't trust you. We don't trust that there will be fairness in how things will be applied. But it's easy to regain that trust.
This might be the last time there will be a change in guard for this site. We should pay them close attention in the coming months, as this is a public forum. A place for everyone. By the end, I'm curious who would be left.
I speak of change, of the nature of the Escapist because I am leery. I am leery to the way things are heading. For a while I have stood up and tried to gather people to listen to a vision of the Escapist I would wish her to have taken hold in her fading years. One of community contributions, of art and discussion. And... and I do not see that as having been what happened.
I'd like to talk about that, and in that I would like to make a defense of Epyc Wynn. An idea I personally would never have thought I'd have done in any other time then the one we are now in. First I'd like to say a few words to the dead dream I had for the Escapist.
I pushed for an elected CM, because I felt it would be a boon to get the suggestions and complaints of the forum goers to a controlled source who would be able to pass them to staff, finally having a connection between the people and the power. I pushed to elect a Cm who could help start a community outreach program. And in the end, when one was declared, suddenly and without discussion. It was the one mod with who the majority disapproved of. Who had a scandal of abusing their power, even of banning dissenting voices. I do not think Basement Cat should hold that seat. I do not think Basement Cat would be unbiased enough to gather the opinion of the community, nor the leadership to be fair to all sides. I do not believe in Basement Cat.
The well of content is dry. Of here it could have been different. I spoke of a community drive. Of having membership donate something. Anything. To have someone filter things out and let those who wanted to take the wheel and water the growth of the forum and content. It didn't have to be much, it didn't have to be all at once, but I have seen great beauty spring from the membership here. I know the members who could do great things. The comic artist, and poets, and storytellers.
Community additions was not made public. It was not given the ability to take ideas from all. A paltry fistful from safe bets, requested in the background and posted to mixed reviews. This was not what I hoped for. This was not the culture of this forum feeding the nature of the site.
The community manager, who needs community support just to fill the front page is silent. I do not see what I have asked for ever coming to pass in these times. Part of it is due I feel to the new dark cloud that has formed over the site through the last few days: The changes in powers, the uncertainty of the rules, and the banning of Epyc Wynn.
Starting with the changes in power, we have Basement Cat, who has had numerous accusations settles against abuses of power. Accusations of banning outright those like American Tanker, of which did get over turned through civil unrest. The reinstating of Topaz, who was removed from power once before for the same abuses that we stand here leery of today, and who's only defense for this decision was that they lived in the right timezone. Not of character or merit, but merely location. The removal of Katherine, who by her own words have been in the background the whole time, and who was given no official reason for this ousting. I would like to know why this happened.
And then we have Bluegate, who was banished for leaking to a member ahead of those on high the plans to cripple him. What he did was taken as treason, though it was the same as what Topaz did before him. Leaking mod chat should have consequences, but the actions of the staff have us concerned as to how we will see the running of the community from here on, and although I do not take Bluegate a martyr, I do take it as a moment of transparency that we have not gotten for quite some time. I had to lash out at Frappe to even get an up-date not that long ago. Because we're not receiving the why of things just the actions taken after, and that has lead to many speaking out on the way of things. And I have a feeling that those who have been leaving comments to the staff have seen those comments erased rather then condensed into the problems we actually have with what is happening.
It is at this point where I would like to talk about Epyc Wynn. Wynn was by all accounts a blusterous rabble-rouser. A person who held in poor regard the methods and membership of the moderation team, and who we all could agree spent much time creating trouble for the forum in the past. And in the past his antics has got him warned for this behavior. We all agree that Wynn deserved these warnings. And we all agree that left alone, Epyc Wynn would eventually be the end of Epyc Wynn.
But for some time, he had been loud but harmless. His dissenting nature against the mods within a reasonable measure, and as such even had warnings removed like any other member. He was, for all intent and purpose an at risk member who was close to ban. Epyc Wynn might have deserved a ban for antics previous, and had he gotten that ban then no one would have batted an eye. Now is not then, and Wynn should have been in no position to lose his membership anymore then anyone else who has spoken out against the mods lately.
What they did to Epyc Wynn was insidious. He had gotten a reprieve, a warning was removed setting him off the cliff. Then they stripped away his pubclub, something that has never happened before in recent times. Had they banned Wynn outright I am sure we would not be talking about this now. He'd have merely been one in many who broke rules and got wrecked for it. But Wynn wasn't breaking rules. Wynn got warnings removed. Wynn wasn't merely banned, they took away his pubclub membership, and dragged him into public where they could ban him for causing a scene. Is this what we have to look forward to, staff depubbing undesirable members from the WW so that the situation could arise to mass ban them? If so I want to hear it from the staff themselves. I want the rules to reflect this new draconian measure. If not then what happened to Wynn was a farce, and like Tanker I request that he be reinstated. He'll eventually screw himself, he can't help it, but this isn't the way things have been done. This wasn't right.
The rules are there to keep fair the membership, and what happened to Wynn was not fair. No one else has had their pubclub removed as a means of control. The mods did not all agree with this decision either. Many stay out of public for that very reason, staying to the quarantine zone. Are you stripping the pubclub from Saelune next? Zontar? CM? Fox? Iceforce? If the answer is no, then how dare you use it against Wynn. Where is the fairness?
We don't know what the rules are, who is enforcing what, and how this will effect the landscape of the site, but there are already concerns. Concerns that some will be singled out quickly to remove those who would speak out the loudest against the current changes. Some that feel that this will be unfair to the community. Some that think that mod transparency will not be withheld. There are concerns, and with what has already been seen, I think those concerns are founded more in fact then mere resistance to change.
I think. I think we are being threatened with change. That whatever rules that are now in vogue needs to quickly be written down, set in stone, and followed fairly and transparently. I think that needs to be the first task of those who have moved into positions of control, because right now we don't trust you. We don't trust that there will be fairness in how things will be applied. But it's easy to regain that trust.
This might be the last time there will be a change in guard for this site. We should pay them close attention in the coming months, as this is a public forum. A place for everyone. By the end, I'm curious who would be left.