NationStates Jolt Archive

I was just talking to Steel Butterfly this morning and he was telling me he's been forum banned for the next three weeks. But there was no reason given to why this suspension was handed out.

However, we both found this action to be a bit confusing, since Steel had been rather inactive for the last few months due to personal reason. It was only yesterday that we restarted our RP that had been on hold for at least two months.

I was wondering if I could get a explanation as to why the suspension was given.

Thank you
Tappee’s player

I would imagine if he needs an answer he can use one of several available options to ask the Mods. There's ample precedent for not telling a friend or fellow rp'er to pass word along, after all.

Telegrams, IRC, sending in a Getting Help request possibly? I find it odd they wouldn't have given an explanation, though. I thought usually that was made pretty plain in whatever message gets sent out - there is one, right? *shrugs*

I'm sure the graphic sex scenes have nothing to do with it...

I'm sure the graphic sex scenes have nothing to do with it...

If it you are refering the post that I'm thinking of I want to bring up several points.

1. That post was made some time ago
2. There are a warning made for it is as well

1. That post was made some time ago

Serious rule violations are still serious rule violations, especially when you link to them, specifically, in your sig which appears on all of your forum posts.

2. There are a warning made for it is as well

You cannot excuse yourself from the site rules by posting a warning.

Yes, it is quite graphic.... I think the standard practice is to "fade out" when something adult in nature is about to happening, implying that it happens but not actually showing it. Of course this is just my understanding of permitted methods, I could be wrong. We must not forget that we have children in these forums, some even in grade school.

/not a mod.

I haven't read whichever post was in question, mind. But wanted to point out that this sort of thing, and what is and isn't 'acceptable' or 'allowable' has been discussed time and time again in the past - and I believe the last big one, Steel was involved in the discussion. 'bout a year ago, maybe? Should be here in Moderation somewhere. It was a big one.

In any case, there is no list of hard rules to cover every situation that I remember, other than once content passes a level of graphic-ness, it's right out. Rape has always been one of those that has managed to get folks in trouble. Good rule of thumb has been suggested as 'when in doubt, leave it out' as per the details of said situation.

There's ample ways of handling the topic without getting too far over the line. And there have been deletions for those who've managed to not figure out where that line is.

Yes, that line has shifted over time, seeing as early on, there hadn't been much precedent for things - that's part and parcel of a developing site. 'Family Friendly' is arguable, seeing as it's subjective.

Can be a difficult thing to guage, yes, but again - if you have a question, ask - though the mods have previously stated they're not here to be our private editors. If you think it might be too much, glaze over the more graphic details. If you really can't be sure or make up your mind, perhaps now is not the best time to be writing about more sensitive or adult themes. Just opinions, mind - in no way quoting 'law' or official guidelines. And it's late, and I'm starting to ramble so ... yep. I'm out.

I've accepted the punishment and whatnot and have calmed down quite a bit since when this originally took place, however I don't think I've quite moved on from the whole situation. I would have brought this up earlier, but I was...well...banned, and I think it's no less important today.

The only reason to censor something is to keep people from seeing it, correct? Apparently my depictions of certain events and the detail I wrote with offended someone or simply went against site rules. (Rules which, I may add, have never been stated...however I understand that you cannot cover everything, so I'm not going to go there.)

I got banned, as I understand, for posting it, first of all, and then for providing a link to it in my signature via a link to the RP itself. What I don't understand is why I could not post what I did with all the warnings I had attached to it. I made sure that the title of the RP said "Adult" in it. I had a big red warning in the first post of the thread that read "This thread is rated R: Discretion is advised. Warning, this thread contains strong language and depictions of violence, gore, adult sexual interactions, and heinous sexual crimes. The deranged environment produced may not be appropriate for younger and/or easily disturbed readers."

Now...my question is...if children, people, or mods who may be possibly offended by it aren't reading it, or are choosing to read it well aware of what's coming, what reason is there to ban me? Once they see the warning yet decide to read on, how is it my fault that they are offended? That's like going to an R rated movie well aware that it's R rated for and being offended by the content that earned it the R rating. It's the same thing as parents being in awe of a video game's content even though they're the one who bought their child the M rated game.

I don't understand why the content was an issue if everyone was properly warned that it was coming. Someone, either a mod or some player, had to go out of their way to find this sole instance of suggestive content, and I think that it's their fault that they were offended because they had every possible chance to turn back or not read on. If the people who may be offended don't read what has a chance to offend them, how can they possibly be offended and tempted to report the post?

I would simply like a mature exchange with a moderator, or at least an explanation outside of simply "It was wrong" or more specifically:

Serious rule violations are still serious rule violations, especially when you link to them, specifically, in your sig which appears on all of your forum posts.

That helps neither me or anyone else who may be questioning whether or not to post something. All I really want is someone to talk with me about it, instead of acting like an uninterested parent with the old "because I said so" reasoning. The simple "when in doubt, leave it out" "solution" is unacceptable. I understand and have come to terms with the fact that I did something wrong...now I want to understand why it wrong in the first place.

It's wrong because Max wants the site to be PG-13. That really ought to be enough reason for you right there. It's his site.

Max didn't say "PG-13 unless they post a warning". Max didn't say "PG-13 unless it's roleplay". Max didn't say "PG-13 except for anime tentacle rape, which I happen to personally enjoy reading to my wife and baby". He said PG-13. Now he didn't spell this out in great detail. What he did was to post a FAQ that included the phrase, "What can't I post? Any content that is: * obscene."

That's one of the rules we've been tasked with enforcing, and enforce it we do. In private, we've had some discussions and guidelines and modly goodness that tells us in greater detail what we are to do when somebody transgresses those limits, but even in public there have been enough discussions in the Moderation forum for anyone to see. It's not a big secret.

This is a private website. Max sets the rules. You can't sidestep them and write your own set simply by placing a warning label. That is why it's wrong.

I've accepted the punishment and whatnot and have calmed down quite a bit since when this originally took place, however I don't think I've quite moved on from the whole situation. I would have brought this up earlier, but I was...well...banned, and I think it's no less important today.

The only reason to censor something is to keep people from seeing it, correct? Apparently my depictions of certain events and the detail I wrote with offended someone or simply went against site rules. (Rules which, I may add, have never been stated...however I understand that you cannot cover everything, so I'm not going to go there.)

I got banned, as I understand, for posting it, first of all, and then for providing a link to it in my signature via a link to the RP itself. What I don't understand is why I could not post what I did with all the warnings I had attached to it. I made sure that the title of the RP said "Adult" in it. I had a big red warning in the first post of the thread that read "This thread is rated R: Discretion is advised. Warning, this thread contains strong language and depictions of violence, gore, adult sexual interactions, and heinous sexual crimes. The deranged environment produced may not be appropriate for younger and/or easily disturbed readers."

Now...my question is...if children, people, or mods who may be possibly offended by it aren't reading it, or are choosing to read it well aware of what's coming, what reason is there to ban me? Once they see the warning yet decide to read on, how is it my fault that they are offended? That's like going to an R rated movie well aware that it's R rated for and being offended by the content that earned it the R rating. It's the same thing as parents being in awe of a video game's content even though they're the one who bought their child the M rated game.

I don't understand why the content was an issue if everyone was properly warned that it was coming. Someone, either a mod or some player, had to go out of their way to find this sole instance of suggestive content, and I think that it's their fault that they were offended because they had every possible chance to turn back or not read on. If the people who may be offended don't read what has a chance to offend them, how can they possibly be offended and tempted to report the post?

I would simply like a mature exchange with a moderator, or at least an explanation outside of simply "It was wrong" or more specifically:



That helps neither me or anyone else who may be questioning whether or not to post something. All I really want is someone to talk with me about it, instead of acting like an uninterested parent with the old "because I said so" reasoning. The simple "when in doubt, leave it out" "solution" is unacceptable. I understand and have come to terms with the fact that I did something wrong...now I want to understand why it wrong in the first place.

I don't think GMC intended to be dismissive. I think he was merely saying that a warning does not allow you to violate the rules. This is a private site and Max Barry and his representatives have said they do not want graphic content on it with or without warnings. They made it a rule. You violated that rule. It's rather simply.

As far as your warning serving well enough, many parents would not allow their teenager on a site with graphic content regardless of whether the particular threads carried warnings. Parents can allow teenagers to frequent this site because they know that graphic content is not allowed here. If the site begins to allow graphic content, then parents have to choose to monitor the individual threads their child participates in (much more difficult) or block the site altogether. The result is that allowing graphic content even with warnings could result in a loss of user base. Some sites are willing to take those losses. NationStates is allowed in many schools and Max Barry does not appear willing to take the loss of that kind of user base.

I don't know for sure this is the reasoning behind the rule, but given the consistency of the rules here it certainly makes sense.

It's wrong because Max wants the site to be PG-13. That really ought to be enough reason for you right there. It's his site.

Max didn't say "PG-13 unless they post a warning". Max didn't say "PG-13 unless it's roleplay". Max didn't say "PG-13 except for anime tentacle rape, which I happen to personally enjoy reading to my wife and baby". He said PG-13. Now he didn't spell this out in great detail. What he did was to post a FAQ that included the phrase, "What can't I post? Any content that is: * obscene."

That's one of the rules we've been tasked with enforcing, and enforce it we do. In private, we've had some discussions and guidelines and modly goodness that tells us in greater detail what we are to do when somebody transgresses those limits, but even in public there have been enough discussions in the Moderation forum for anyone to see. It's not a big secret.

This is a private website. Max sets the rules. You can't sidestep them and write your own set simply by placing a warning label. That is why it's wrong.

Dang. I was too slow. Carry on.

It's wrong because Max wants the site to be PG-13. That really ought to be enough reason for you right there. It's his site.

Max didn't say "PG-13 unless they post a warning". Max didn't say "PG-13 unless it's roleplay". Max didn't say "PG-13 except for anime tentacle rape, which I happen to personally enjoy reading to my wife and baby". He said PG-13. Now he didn't spell this out in great detail. What he did was to post a FAQ that included the phrase, "What can't I post? Any content that is: * obscene."

That's one of the rules we've been tasked with enforcing, and enforce it we do. In private, we've had some discussions and guidelines and modly goodness that tells us in greater detail what we are to do when somebody transgresses those limits, but even in public there have been enough discussions in the Moderation forum for anyone to see. It's not a big secret.

This is a private website. Max sets the rules. You can't sidestep them and write your own set simply by placing a warning label. That is why it's wrong.

OOC: Does this mean that all roleplays have to go through some kind of censoring board? As well, what if poster A posts a thread that poster B thinks is obscene? Is poster B obligated to tell the mods? These questions are not intended to be cheeky, but to raise issues in light of the ruling put forth.

I seem to remember being 13. I seem to remember that DON'T READ THIS! plus Nobody will know whether I've read it or not plus I can get away with breaking an an adult's rule, no hassles added up to, "All you other 13-year-olds stop pushin'! I saw it first!"

So, no. Warnings won't work.

With all due respect, Ardchoille, I would like to hear from a mod.

It's wrong because Max wants the site to be PG-13. That really ought to be enough reason for you right there. It's his site.

Max didn't say "PG-13 unless they post a warning". Max didn't say "PG-13 unless it's roleplay". Max didn't say "PG-13 except for anime tentacle rape, which I happen to personally enjoy reading to my wife and baby". He said PG-13. Now he didn't spell this out in great detail. What he did was to post a FAQ that included the phrase, "What can't I post? Any content that is: * obscene."

That's one of the rules we've been tasked with enforcing, and enforce it we do. In private, we've had some discussions and guidelines and modly goodness that tells us in greater detail what we are to do when somebody transgresses those limits, but even in public there have been enough discussions in the Moderation forum for anyone to see. It's not a big secret.

This is a private website. Max sets the rules. You can't sidestep them and write your own set simply by placing a warning label. That is why it's wrong.

So, are the mods going to go through the past twenty, twenty-five or so pages in NS and II and weed out all the R- or NC-17 rated RPs, and ban the creators of them too?

If one of the forum mods or RP mods wants to do that, yeah, they could.

It's not a new ruling, folks. The FAQ has been here since the beginning.

Is enforcement spotty? Yes. It is in all aspects of the game. There are thousands of active players. We catch what we see, and what is reported. Sometimes the rest slides. That doesn't make it permitted, just unnoticed. Don't try to build a justification out of that.

If one of the forum mods or RP mods wants to do that, yeah, they could.

It's not a new ruling, folks. The FAQ has been here since the beginning.

Is enforcement spotty? Yes. It is in all aspects of the game. There are thousands of active players. We catch what we see, and what is reported. Sometimes the rest slides. That doesn't make it permitted, just unnoticed. Don't try to build a justification out of that.

OOC: No one is trying to build a justification out of it. I thought that my question was legitimate. I would appreciate it if you would not look for some kind of ulterior motive in my question.

I realize obscene material (perhaps what is meant is "obscenity") is a bit tricky to define but I think, and please correct me if I am wrong, that wherever the server is located is where the definition of obscenity falls? I don't know what the UK definition is, but here is the Canadian one:

http://www.ncra.ca/resources/mediaLaw/definitions.cfm

Anyhow, I don't have a problem with the ruling (on Steel's thread). Perhaps what the mods could do is direct an offender to the FAQ if a person commits a violation. As well, I'm assuming that a warning label such as R or "Graphic" or whatever in the title is not sufficient, correct?

OOC:All comments in Moderation are by definition OOC

wherever the server is located is where the definition of obscenity falls? Since none of us are lawyers, and nobody knows for sure where various internet jurisdictions fall these days, and since the owner is Australian, the server is in the UK, and most of the mods are in the US ... we're going to err on the side of caution. If any one of us thinks it might qualify as obscenity anywhere one of our readers might be reading it, that's good enough. Remember, we were selected for our judgement and interest in the game, not our professional legal skills. We do what we can.

Perhaps what the mods could do is direct an offender to the FAQ if a person commits a violation.The FAQ is linked to every single one of the nation pages. Our assumption is and always has been that you are aware of the FAQ and the Terms of Service (yes, you checked the box indicating you had read them every time you created a nation), thus they should not need to be pointed in that direction. Not meaning to come across as a smartass here, but that's a simple fact. You play a game, you should be at least marginally aware of the rules. We're not babysitters.

As well, I'm assuming that a warning label such as R or "Graphic" or whatever in the title is not sufficient, correct?Are we going to keep coming back to this again and again? If it's not allowed, it doesn't matter WHAT label it has. The label will not make it safe or legal. Period.

I realize obscene material (perhaps what is meant is "obscenity") is a bit tricky to define but I think, and please correct me if I am wrong, that wherever the server is located is where the definition of obscenity falls?

Define:

Graphic sexual content is not allowed at all, especially if it relates to rape. Implied sexual content can sometimes be passable if it's done correctly, but should be avoided as a rule because it's risky ground to tread on; more to the point, you don't need heaving chests and much THRUST!ing to get your point across anyway. In a movie, if the scene fades out when they kiss then cuts to them under the covers in bed, the viewer can generally guess what happened.

Violence: Excessively graphic or pointless violence, or constant posting of violent-themed threads will get you kickage. If there's some point to the violence, fine and good. If you're just executing 200000000000 of $group in $fashion because you had a bad day at school and want to vent, not good.

Swearing: Constant swearing beyond what could reasonably be expected of the character / situation in question is bad.

This is as good a list as any: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=395843

Does this mean that all roleplays have to go through some kind of censoring board? As well, what if poster A posts a thread that poster B thinks is obscene? Is poster B obligated to tell the mods? These questions are not intended to be cheeky, but to raise issues in light of the ruling put forth.They may not be intended to be cheeky, but they certainly come across that way.

The base assumption is that people will avoid posts that are against the rules, and that if they insist on posting something that toes the line, they will realise they run the risk of being punished for it.

Example:

99.9% of the time, you can get away with driving 5mph over the speed limit. If you chose to do so, you fully realise that should an officer wish to, they could pull you over and slap you with a citation for speeding. The perceived benifits outweigh the real risks.

If you want to write a scene that goes past the "fade to a fireplace as the characters kiss", you have to realise that you're starting to go 5 mph over. You'll probably be okay, but you might go too far, in which case you'll be punished. And just like speeding, if you already have citations, you're more likely to be more severely punished.

Explicit sex and/or rape scenes are like going 50mph over the limit; you should fully expect to be caught and severely punished. Sure, there's a slim chance that nobody will notice and you'll get away with it, but it's really not worth the risk.

And as for getting all posts checked out by a "censoring board", give me a break. Most of the sexual scenes that get people punished are clumsily writting, not titilating in the slightest, and add absolutely nothing to the story. People need to quit trying to be racy or INTENSE! and instead focus on telling a good story. Just like throwing in the slaughter of thousands of $minority doesn't make you a badass, neither does tossing in a pointless sex scene.

As for obligation for reporting, that's been gone over before. Players cannot be expected to report other players, nor are they required to. It's appretiated, sure, but not required. Of course, considering the number of people that seem to think their rule violations are acceptable because $other_person didn't get punished, you'd expect more people reporting.

I don't want to clutter up this forum, but I'd be interested to know how others have dealt, in a way they feel is acceptable, with sex in their RPs. Is there anywhere else where NS writing is discussed?

I've seen that Role_Playing_University region is re-opening, so I was thinking of asking Wolfish if this could be a topic. There are Euro's stickies, too, but I was hoping more for a continuing thread.

It's wrong because Max wants the site to be PG-13. That really ought to be enough reason for you right there. It's his site.

Max didn't say "PG-13 unless they post a warning". Max didn't say "PG-13 unless it's roleplay". Max didn't say "PG-13 except for anime tentacle rape, which I happen to personally enjoy reading to my wife and baby". He said PG-13. Now he didn't spell this out in great detail. What he did was to post a FAQ that included the phrase, "What can't I post? Any content that is: * obscene."

That's one of the rules we've been tasked with enforcing, and enforce it we do. In private, we've had some discussions and guidelines and modly goodness that tells us in greater detail what we are to do when somebody transgresses those limits, but even in public there have been enough discussions in the Moderation forum for anyone to see. It's not a big secret.

This is a private website. Max sets the rules. You can't sidestep them and write your own set simply by placing a warning label. That is why it's wrong.

The FAQ is linked to every single one of the nation pages. Our assumption is and always has been that you are aware of the FAQ and the Terms of Service (yes, you checked the box indicating you had read them every time you created a nation), thus they should not need to be pointed in that direction. Not meaning to come across as a smartass here, but that's a simple fact. You play a game, you should be at least marginally aware of the rules. We're not babysitters.

Alright, I guess that’s fair enough. I would like to suggest, however, that the “PG-13” thing be paraded a little more. While I’m not questioning its existence, I have to say that in my 2+ years at this site, I’ve never seen or heard of it. “Obscene” is too subjective of a term, as I’m sure there are even different definitions among mods.

I don't think GMC intended to be dismissive. I think he was merely saying that a warning does not allow you to violate the rules. This is a private site and Max Barry and his representatives have said they do not want graphic content on it with or without warnings. They made it a rule. You violated that rule. It's rather simply.

As far as your warning serving well enough, many parents would not allow their teenager on a site with graphic content regardless of whether the particular threads carried warnings. Parents can allow teenagers to frequent this site because they know that graphic content is not allowed here. If the site begins to allow graphic content, then parents have to choose to monitor the individual threads their child participates in (much more difficult) or block the site altogether. The result is that allowing graphic content even with warnings could result in a loss of user base. Some sites are willing to take those losses. NationStates is allowed in many schools and Max Barry does not appear willing to take the loss of that kind of user base.

It’s not my job, Jocabia, to cater to what a parent may theoretically take offense to. Apparently, Max feels that it is his job. However, staying with this same theme, it is not your job to attempt to explain to me mod reasoning, mod intentions, or repeat what mods have told me, however “simply” you feel it may be. A general rule is not to speak unless you have something to add to the conversation.

So, are the mods going to go through the past twenty, twenty-five or so pages in NS and II and weed out all the R- or NC-17 rated RPs, and ban the creators of them too?

Apparently they, or someone else, already do this. I hadn’t posted in months when my post was “discovered.”

Most of the sexual scenes that get people punished are clumsily writing, not titillating in the slightest, and add absolutely nothing to the story. People need to quit trying to be racy or INTENSE! and instead focus on telling a good story. Just like throwing in the slaughter of thousands of $minority doesn't make you a badass, neither does tossing in a pointless sex scene.

Throwing out general complaints, as well as putting down others without any knowledge of how they write, makes you no better of a writer or roleplayer yourself, Caloris. The scene I wrote, I must say, was not intended to be titillating, added everything to the story in way of character motivation and how the reader views the characters, and was hardly clumsily written. Fade-outs, in terms of sex and violence, are about as effective and realistic as pseudo-swearing. It was not gratuitous sex, and you can take you whining about the quality of roleplaying elsewhere. There’s no need to preach to the choir.

In general, I’m really disappointed with where NationStates is going. There’s nothing I can do about it, and I know this, however I had enjoyed this site not for the pointless “debate” in General or the corny issues that make up the real game, but instead for the fact that it was a haven for myself and others to not only write our stories but to have them read by people who appreciate and are entertained by them. Perhaps my mistake was not simply posting something that the mods found inappropriate, but in fact making NationStates something that it’s not.

Nothing has ever been PG-13, nor has anyone been told to keep it as such. Not in the godmodding days of old, not in the constant and massive world wars of International Incidents, and not in the graphically violent and destructive characters of the NationStates forum.

I see now that what I did was wrong according to this PG-13 rule that, as I said, I have no doubt of its existence, however I cannot help but point out that its existence is a hidden one for those who don’t frequent the Moderation forum for fun and enjoyment. That being said when I wrote what I did I had no idea that what I was writing was to be considered wrong. Nothing I have ever written has been obscene, and I still feel that way and I still stick to my guns on it. Nevertheless, I, like everyone else I hope, will abide by this PG-13 rule when roleplaying on NationStates.

Ok I’m going to go on a little rant here, if you don’t want to listen to what I have to say then STOP reading NOW.

First off I want to go record as saying that this matter could have been perhaps handled a little better on everyone account. We have already established via this debate that there is a wide range of what one might consider appropriate. I can speak from my personal experience the Steels post was not made to offend anyone, but instead to add to the story that he was writing and give a better understanding to that specific character. However, there was only post that had questionable content, not the ENTIRE thread. Instead of deleting the single post or asking Steel to modify the post, the ENTIRE thread was deleted and Steel was banned. There were warning to content, and I know that obviously that it self was not enough, but the punishment itself seemed a little harsh in my opinion.

Second point to make was the initial lack of feedback given for the banning, don’t you think that if you are going to ban someone for QUESTIONABLE reasons that you at least owe it to that person as to why they are being punished, you can’t stop doing something wrong if you do not know you are doing something wrong.

Thirdly, this goes out to all those people who ARE NOT MODS, shut up. Steel asked me to look in this matter on his behalf due to the fact that he was indeed banned, and my question was directed to the MODS and the MODS alone. Last thing that either Steel or I wanted was for every MOD WANTABE to throw their own individuals two cents in, if we had wanted your feedback then we posted the issue in the GENERAL forums. Issues between individual player and the mods should remain only between those that are directly involved. I grow tired of those individuals who feel that they are high and mighty and go around policing the forums when they have no authority to do so.

I understand that being a mod is a difficult and daunting job and have respect for any individual that takes on that role. I am in no way telling you how are when to do you job, I am only telling things the way that I see them with this specific incident.

Alright, I guess that’s fair enough. I would like to suggest, however, that the “PG-13” thing be paraded a little more. While I’m not questioning its existence, I have to say that in my 2+ years at this site, I’ve never seen or heard of it. “Obscene” is too subjective of a term, as I’m sure there are even different definitions among mods.

Odd, I have no RP experience, and yet I've seen it, oh, I don't know, a half dozen times.

It’s not my job, Jocabia, to cater to what a parent may theoretically take offense to. Apparently, Max feels that it is his job. However, staying with this same theme, it is not your job to attempt to explain to me mod reasoning, mod intentions, or repeat what mods have told me, however “simply” you feel it may be. A general rule is not to speak unless you have something to add to the conversation.

It is Max's decision as to what you'll cater to on HIS site. He chose to create a site that is PG-13. It is your job to adhere to his decision or go elsewhere. You might be surprised by you don't get a vote on that subject any more than you get a vote on what clothes are acceptable at the local club and how the bouncers enforce the dress codes. You showed up in jeans and the bouncers told you to go home and come back when you were properly dressed whether dressing that way was your 'job' or not.

A lot of time you'll find players offering advice and feedback in this forum and it's actually encouraged. In this specific case, you're claiming that the rules are not clear to the players yet several players here have agreed that the information is readily available through several different paths. Some people try a thing called accepting responsiblity for their actions. Here, you're expected to do so.

It is Max's decision as to what you'll cater to on HIS site. He chose to create a site that is PG-13.
Not to pick on you specifically, Jocabia, but this is just restating what I already explained before in my official capacity. There's no need for that in the Moderation forum, as Mod posts stand as official proclamations.

Given that, I'm closing this thread. We seem to be done here.