Thread:The Supreme Argonian/@comment-17809593-20190327055738/@comment-30907571-20190331231110

Hello MadMikeRyan,

Thank you for getting in touch with me to discuss this issue. I have read and considered your points and have done my best to address them. Please let me know if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of my response.

I locked the post because I felt the ensuing discussion violated aspects of the Discussions Guidelines. Some of your comments were insulting and disrespectful of other people's beliefs. The discussion regarding Blind gta's condition was irrelevant to the topic of the post. You are correct that I locked the post a while after the discussion had finished, but as a Discussions Moderator, it is my job to make sure that the community is aware of what behaviour is and is not acceptable, and had I not made that decision I believe I would be sending the wrong message.

Some of the first comments you made were outrageous and I reject any attempt to describe them as 'civil' or 'respectful'. An example is when you said, "Don't shit all over this game because it's not easy for you. You know exactly what you are up against, so don't complain." This was extremely insensitive to Blind gta and his condition, and I am inclined to view this as bullying considering that it was an entirely unnecessary response to a simple request for help.

You then proceeded to say, "if a blind person tries to play a video game then it is absurd for them to complain about the experience." Once again, you were attempting to use Blind gta's condition to essentially shut down his criticisms of a game.

Both these statements were highly inappropriate and unnecessary to the context of the post. You did dial down your tone further into the conversation, for which I commend you, but the fact remains that your behaviour is classed as bullying and the Discussions Moderators see it as such. You are in fact lucky that I did not ban you then and there; had my response been during or immediately after the discussions, I almost certainly would've done.

My other concern with this discussion was that it was entirely unrelated to the post; mentioning Blind gta's condition in passing could perhaps be excused, but to have such an extensive and lengthy discussion about something that has no relation to the post cannot be tolerated. You were not solely responsible for this and I would say the same to anyone else involved if they were to message me. However, you still played a significant role in this subject deviation and you are not free of blame.

It is correct that my response was not as timely as should be expected of a Discussions Moderator (although your claim that my response came 'weeks' later is a blatant lie- it was, in fact, less than one week after the discussion had ended) and for that, I apologise; I had been extremely busy during those few weeks and I only spotted this discussion by chance whilst performing a quick check. However, the timing of my response has little relevance to the actions I took. As a Discussions Moderator, I have to show to the community that violating the guidelines will not be tolerated, regardless of when the violation occurred. I would be failing to do my duty had I simply ignored the incident on the basis that it was over.

I would additionally like to apologise for the manner in which I commented. My tone was more threatening than intended and unfairly targeted you, despite others being involved. Furthermore, it was wrong of me to use the word 'toxic' to describe you, as I do not believe you to be a toxic member of this community. I should have instead used the phrase 'toxic behaviour'; whilst you yourself are not toxic, the way you behaved undeniably was.

To conclude I do not believe that my actions showed a lack of competence for the position of Discussions Moderator or that I acted unprofessionally or outside of my duty, and I resent any such accusations. I hope this matter can now be settled, but if it is taken further I will expect an opportunity to defend myself and my position and justify the actions I took. Furthermore, should any more problems arise with you, I will not hesitate to use any and all means at my disposal to fulfil my duty.

Regards,

The Supreme Argonian