To the members of our community,
Normally I (nor any other member of our moderation team) would add any notes beyond the standard ban report listed, but given the larger social groups involved in the incident(s) underlying this one, I wanted to add some personal thoughts. I know this will not change the perspective of some involved, but I think it is important for the sake of transparency.
This ban is not because of mass reporting or one side of a social dispute 'running to moderation' and weaponizing it against those they have a spat with. This ban, as genuinely unfortunate as I believe it to be, is because of the level of escalation a social dispute has risen to.
As a general practice, we (Moderation) are not here to play referee for arguments between friends groups. If people hate each other and argue behind closed doors, that is their business. I hope they will be able to resolve it or find a way to keep each other at a distance and keep peace - but again, it is not our business. Once the matter starts affecting our community on a larger scale however, we have to intervene.
In this case, Moderation has fielded countless tickets from various individuals involved in a larger dispute tracing back to something quite trivial that happened long before Avalore. Like a high school rivalry, the bristling between different friend groups continued to grow to the point where the underlying reason for the argument no longer matters. When this first started spilling into public channels on Avalore, Moderation got involved and issued warnings to the people involved - either to resolve their differences, keep their distance, or at a minimum, to keep it out of the server community: you all do not deserve to be caught in the crossfire.
Things did not get better however: things only got worse. Messages being sent and shared both in our Discord, in associated Discords, and on the server, only made the tension greater - and more people still have been getting caught up in it all. This is why we've put our foot down finally and said enough is enough.
I - personally (not speaking for anyone else on staff) - am not here to pass judgement on Audianna as a person. I think (and I may be mistaken) that they feel that they were doing what was right, and that they felt they were rightfully defending themself and their image. Whatever their motivations, however, cannot excuse the degree to which hostility and harm has been spreading out from this incident which they have been unable to restrain, despite both warnings and advice from us. I genuinely hope that things calm and the community is able to move forward without this being a lasting cause for argument, but the reality is that I cannot let more people get caught up in a social war that splits our community waiting for all those involved to sort things out.
You may disagree with my reasoning here. That's okay. I provide it so you understand that this was not a decision taken out of malice or hatred for those involved. Avalore has been incredibly fortunate to have a positive and welcoming community up to this point, and I hope it will continue to do so despite this incident.
Respectfully yours,
~ Reedie
