Bans for investigation

[Caleb Mann]

As I said previously, this is not just a game. This is a community, and we staff do a lot more than just moderate a few games. If someone is being abused/bullied, it really doesn't matter whether it was over a video game, a forum, a text, or some other form of social media, the effect is the same, and it is still abuse.

I understand what you mean though.

 

[Sup3rT0nyRocks]

You see: heres my opinion on this matter:
This team was said to be peaceful while asking staff to fix things, then they turned to violent flaming and stressed out the staff very much. The staff get sleep loss when they're thinking of the comments these rude people make, thus causing a big problem. You all think it's so simple for the staff to deal with all of this? Do you? Well, I hope you realize, there is MORE THAN 100 000 MCSG MEMBERS REGISTERED? You see, these people make the staff's jobs even more difficult and even unbearable to some of them. If these people are disrupting the staff and even cyber-bullying normal users on the servers and forum, the staff have a perfect reason to ban them: Harrasment and Cyberbullying.
Thanks,
Sup3rT0nyM4n, Lululioness's pet cow.

 

[ohheyitscarly]

I will never understand why the people of MCSG continue to argue with the staff. Their choices are their choices, and you flaming over it will not change anything.

 

[loic1212]

As well as emotional stuff that comes with being constantly abused and insulted.

Well, I'm sorry but if the moderators have emotional problems for just a bit of insulting then I don't think they will survive long as normal member. They're staff, people are scared of them. I've never seen someone insult a mod.. But I have seen a whole lobby rage at one for teaming or at me because I won the last game. Being called retarded hacker the whole lobby aint fun. If staff has health problems for the very little harrasment they get, then they have to take a break. And what's with the 'attack'. I've never seen someone shoot another trough Minecraft..

BUT other then that I think the staff is handling this situation great.

 

[Gustav Mahikano]

I will never understand why the people of MCSG continue to argue with the staff. Their choices are their choices, and you flaming over it will not change anything.

Yolo. xD

 

[Le0]

Well, I'm sorry but if the moderators have emotional problems for just a bit of insulting then I don't think they will survive long as normal member. They're staff, people are scared of them. I've never seen someone insult a mod.. But I have seen a whole lobby rage at one for teaming or at me because I won the last game. Being called retarded hacker the whole lobby aint fun. If staff has health problems for the very little harrasment they get, then they have to take a break. And what's with the 'attack'. I've never seen someone shoot another trough Minecraft..

Mmkay, fair point. However, staff do get a lot of abuse from players, probably a lot more than you know. It's not a "little harassment" in any way, and it's not so much the "@#$% YOU "Insert Sr Staff name here* YOU'RE A @#$%ing @#$%", which we get all the time and are used to. It's the constant harassment and insults made to the senior staff members, some highly personal, trying to fire people, and even accessing senior staff member's accounts. It's not really a "break down and cry" emotional situation, it's more like pulling your hair out and stressing because we're trying to do the best for a community that is too blindly convinced we're the spawn of satan or something.

 

[Agerbon]

CodeShort
I truly agree with what you say. This is something that can happen anywhere, not only in video games. People trolling about it should be ashamed, but some people did not get proper education to respect others. It's very sad that it has come to this. Now let's clean up this mess..

 

[MrKorrenian]

I completely understand what Leo is attempting to bring to the eyes of the community. While its not a lot it does add up, and gets to your head. Being bullied at school myself I know exactly what pain they're going through, I would never do that to someone. I realize that last statement seems hypocritical because I am one of the man that the Perm Ban affects, but what they're doing makes sense to me. Stop it at the source and contain it, eliminate the negative variables = Happy Community. I wish the staff the best of luck recuperating from whatever may affect them in there work and that they resolve the problem as soon as possible - MrKorrenian

 

[teovald]

Oh wow? People threatening others through a video game?
What are you gonna do? Caps me to death?

 

[ShaunDepro]

You see: heres my opinion on this matter:
This team was said to be peaceful while asking staff to fix things, then they turned to violent flaming and stressed out the staff very much. The staff get sleep loss when they're thinking of the comments these rude people make, thus causing a big problem. You all think it's so simple for the staff to deal with all of this? Do you? Well, I hope you realize, there is MORE THAN 100 000 MCSG MEMBERS REGISTERED? You see, these people make the staff's jobs even more difficult and even unbearable to some of them. If these people are disrupting the staff and even cyber-bullying normal users on the servers and forum, the staff have a perfect reason to ban them: Harrasment and Cyberbullying.
Thanks,
Sup3rT0nyM4n, Lululioness's pet cow.

I think it was the actions of a few but many other members were related to the issue.

 

[Ava]

Oh wow? People threatening others through a video game?
What are you gonna do? Caps me to death?

If you'd read the rest of the thread first before joking around about it, you'd understand.

 

[Col_StaR]

A complete official statement involving all the details of the circumstances will be released to the public as soon as we can. But, to hopefully answer any questions and alleviate any concerns on the matter, I wish to offer my perspective on the matter.
-----

I never intended for any of this to happen, and I'm sorry it's come to this. The Peace Summit was meant to reduce tension and drama by offering a platform for discussion and negotiation between concerned players and the staff, while maintaining privacy to offer efficiency and security. I spent days worth of effort arranging for a system that avoided the typical drama, flaming, and popularity contests that were commonplace in such discussions, while providing a calm, rational, diplomatic solution amongst high-tension groups. For a few weeks, things seemed to be going absolutely beautifully too: both sides were active, members were cooperative and kind, and people truly believed in the Summit and what it could accomplish.

But during this time, an element within the Summit membership took hold, and began operating beyond the scope and peaceful ideology of the Summit they agreed to uphold. Whether they were emboldened by their new-found voice or simply enacting a hidden agenda, these agitators began to act in more aggressive manners. I am not at liberty to say what exactly they did, but, "bullying" is an understatement, and it is but one offense we believe they are guilty of. They lied to me, they betrayed the Summit, and they sought to harm the community, its members, and its staff for their own reasons.

As members of the staff who had invested a part of their lives within this community, seeing it being turned against them caused much mental and emotional havoc which translated into physical pain. Until you've been responsible for a community of people whom you'll gladly call your friends and supporters, and then have them turn against you to the drum-beat of insults and attacks that bleeds into your physical reality, you will never know just how much impact "a videogame" can have.

Such devious acts do not go unpunished, however. Some of the more enlightened members, from both inside the Summit and outside of it, were brave enough to bring information forward to us, confirming our much-feared suspicions regarding this agitators group; to them, we owe much. It was because of these people and the evidence that was collected that we were able to construct an understanding of the hidden conflict that's being waged, which has allowed us to begin conducting the investigation that is the topic of debate here.

Very quickly, I'll go over the talking points and points of clarification that have come up/are bound to come up.

• The people who have been banned are either under investigation for potential involvement with the agitator group (and thus is responsible for attacks against members, staff, and the community at large). The Admin staff will be responsible for pouring through the mountain of evidence together, and coming to a verdict.
• We chose to ban them first for security and containment reasons; it's the same reason why people are incarcerated before their hearing before a judge. Seeing as we've already dealt with a massive wave of drama that has lead to this, we sought to prevent another resurgence of drama from the suspects in question. By limiting peoples' access to the community at large, we decrease the likelihood that they exploit the confusion and lack of information to rally support to themselves (e.g. calling the staff corrupt tyrants), which would cause further drama to destabilize the community. It's not the nicest way, but it's better than the alternatives. We've already explained the situation to those whom we could reach in person, and they all seem to understand (albeit disappointed it had to come down to this, as am I).
• The bans themselves are temporary for the duration of the investigation.
  • If there is no evidence leading us to believe that they are involved with such extreme actions, the person in question will be deemed innocent, and the ban will be lifted. This will not be held against their record.
  • If there is sufficient evidence leading us to believe they were involved with extreme actions, the person will be permanently banned from the community in every avenue. They will have demonstrated that their intentions are hostile, and we will not tolerate such aggressors in our community
• We can't give you specific details regarding the investigation, including names of those involved. We are dealing with much sensitive information, which could easily be used to interfere with the investigation, cause drama within the community, or encourage further bullying. To prevent such occurrences, we rely on confidentiality and operational security.
  • As a silver lining of the now defunct-Summit, the Sr. Staff has agreed to embrace a greater degree of transparency. As such, some evidence will be released to the public to demonstrate that the matters of the investigation are indeed quite serious, and that they are to be taken as such.
• What do we ask that you do?
  • Keep Calm and Carry On.
  • Please try to be understanding of the staff and our handling of the situation. For reasons stated above, we have not given you the full details as to what's going on, so please do not judge or pester our staff out of a lack of understanding. We're rational beings just like you are, and the decisions we make are the most rational ones we see based on the circumstances that we have. What may not make sense to you, may make sense if you knew the sensitive information we were trusted with.
  • Do not get involved. Whether you're trying to help or you're purposely causing trouble, the best thing you can do for us is to let us do our jobs. If you persist in hindering our investigation, you will be punished accordingly.
  • Let us do our jobs. Please.

I'm sorry that my first large post to the community on the forums has to come under these severe circumstances. Truth be told, I had hoped to make my introduction as Community Manager with the successful Summit being proof that I was worthy of the role. But we, as members of MCSG, are nothing if not survivors of the harshest of circumstances.

I hope that this has shed some light on the situation right now, and should reduce the drama surrounding it.
This had become a problem that I had no intention of starting. But together, we will fix it.
I will see to that.