BYOND Key: IAMAUNIVERSITYSTUDENT
Total Ban Length: permanent
Banning staff member's Key: alberyk
Reason of Ban: "posting goatse in ooc" (note that I did not actually post the image in OOC, so that didn't actually happen)
Reason for Appeal:
Please take this seriously. I am not joking with this appeal.
Sequence of events:
ooc: me: Hey, do you guys want to see the inside of a goat?
ooc: someone else: yes
ooc: me: www.goatse.ru
server: you have been banned
What was the joke:
"see a goat" -> "goat see" -> "goatse"
The admins did not even bwoink me before banning. I know that it's standard practice to do so. I'm looking in the rules right now and I what I did is not listed as something that should be handled with a permaban. Bulletpoint 3 says,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this rule is intended to prevent hate speech and ERP in the OOC channels. What I posted is not hate speech, and it is also not erotic roleplay. Additionally, the language of the rule, "avoid" suggests that a certain amount of leeway is allowed: while excessive activities may lead to punishments, small discussions and non-serious jokes will be tolerated, if frowned upon.
From the rules:
Administrators made no attempt to reach out to me. There was no communication, so the second criteria was not met. Because there was no communication, the issue was not opened. Therefore, because it was not opened, it could not have been left unresolved, meaning the first criteria was not met. Therefore, the ban should not have been permanent, as neither criteria was met. The banning admin should have instead opted for a lesser punishment, such as a temporary ban or a verbal warning.
Let's be honest. I know that alberyk banned me because I posted a link to shock porn. I was joshin' around. I get this. However, I see the severity of this as mitigated by four factors.
the link was not a hyperlink. Nobody could click on it and, perhaps by accident, be transported to goatse.ru.
goatse has been around since 1999. It is a very, very stale redirect.
it's not actually against the rules.
It's not in the rules.
If it's not in the rules not to do it, then players do not have a reasonable expectation to comply under threat of punishment, and an automatic ban without discussion is not warranted. All of these reasons together point to the fact that I handed an excessive punishment and deserve to have it reduced.
Thank you for your time.
